Help Catherine Fight Breast Cancer

A few days before Thanksgiving my mother told my sister and me that she was waiting to find out if the breast cancer she’d been free of for eight years had come back. At the beginning of December, our worst fears were confirmed — the cancer had returned. Our mum, Catherine Winburn, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes. Cancer already comes with a lot of fear and stress, but to make matters worse, we learned she was dealing with three kinds of breast cancer: HER2-postive invasive ductal carcinoma, grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma, and invasive lobular carcinoma. Because of this, her original treatment plan had to be altered, becoming longer and more complicated. To get through this she will require multiple forms of chemotherapy treatments over the course of several months, radiation therapy, and surgery.

Despite all of this, our mum is remaining her upbeat and cheerful self. The hospital staff are always surprised by her optimistic approach to this daunting situation. But between the treatment itself and the inability to work consistently while she experiences the side effects of chemo, she is under significant financial strain. The money raised from this GoFundMe campaign will go towards her medical bills and, due to her temporary loss of income, other expenses such as groceries and bills.

Our mum is a light in every life she touches and has always done everything in her power to support her family both emotionally and financially — even at her own expense. All we want to do during this time is take care of her the way she has always done for us and relieve as much stress as possible during this overwhelming time.

She has completed her first two rounds of chemotherapy but she still has a long road ahead of her. It would mean the world to my sister and me, our husbands, and Catherine’s grandchildren, Eve, Lily, Violet, Everett, and Sophie if our community could rally behind us and help get her through this difficult journey.

Thank you all for the support!