Help me as I go through chemo & radiation for breast cancer

Hi! My name is Anne Steves. I am an artist living on Vancouver Island, BC. I turned 40 in June of 2023 and went to my first mammogram in support of a friend. I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer after that first mammogram. It was a complete surprise. Since then it has been test after test. I have had a partial mastectomy surgery and cancer cells were found in my lymph node. I am now in the midst of chemotherapy. I have had to stop working my day job and my energy levels aren't allowing for much art production either. It is a grueling process. Chemo will be followed by radiation therapy for which we will have to travel to Victoria, BC, three hours from home, and be there for several weeks.

Your funds will go towards helping with our household costs while I can't work. It will also help us during radiation therapy as we will have hotel costs and my husband will accompany me and be away from work.

It is hard to ask for help but my friends have told me I should, so here I am. 2024 is going to be a hell of a year and so I hope you can help an artist in her time of trouble.

You can follow my journey on instagram @annestevesartist and please go get your mammogram!

Thank you xoxo

P.S. A little info on some of the costs faced by cancer patients ... In order to have this chemo treatment plan, I have to take a bunch of medications. Our wonderful Canadian Healthcare covers my chemotherapy in the hospital, but it doesn't automatically cover the medications to prevent nausea, allergic reactions, and most importantly, to boost my White Blood Cell count. These things keep me healthy enough to be at home and to be ready for the next round. I take 8 injections every round (two weeks). Each injection costs around $160. So $160 x 8 x 8 rounds = $10,240. That is just for the injections!! Luckily, much of these drug costs are being covered by Pharmacare but there are other costs that aren't such as time off work, every day living costs, other medications and going out of town for several weeks for radiation because there are only a handful of places providing it in the province. I share this because I had no idea before my diagnosis what was ahead and I hope that my sharing will help others too.