Main fundraiser photo

Car for Tara’s Lifelong Treatments

Look at that smile. She smiles with her new port because she no longer has to get multiple needle pricks for every blood test, or every chemo treatment. And yet the reality is her life will end before her treatment does, yet she smiles because she deals with this one day at a time and will love every minute of whatever she has left. Everyone who reads this, I want to get across how amazing she has been to everyone in her life, how much she has touched everyone in her life. It will be hard for her to accept any help but she needs it more than ever.

Tara, my mother, my insanely amazing strong ‘mumsy’ now has Stage 4 breast cancer.

If you can’t contribute that is totally understandable, but please share this. We are from Victoria, BC, Canada.

The Funds

Mom had a surgically implanted port because she will receive treatment for the rest of her life. Currently she needs to go to the hospital weekly to receive blood tests and the following day to receive chemotherapy (occasionally a week off depending on the type of chemo, can change depending on how the cancer reacts).

Mom is surrounded by her three children (and their significant others and 4 year old granddaughter!) and her amazing husband (my dad) so we’ll do whatever we can to keep her around her family. My parents sold their only vehicle to help with finances and I’d love to raise the funds to get them a basic vehicle just to allow my dad to get my mom to and from treatments. Dad arranges to get a vehicle from whoever he can when they need it but that is not what he should be worrying about (it’s overwhelming just trying to make sure she takes all her medications in the right order and on time).

If she only has a short time left the last thing I want her and my dad to worry about is how they’ll arrange to get her to the hospital. Any additional funds would be used to pay for car insurance, gas, hospital parking, comforts (comfy blankets, she’s always cold!), whatever her heart desires at the time because she’s the most amazing mom and it’s finally her time to sit back and have someone else take care of her because that’s all she’s ever done for her family and friends.

Her Story

I may be a bit off with dates because I thought, maybe dreamed, that this was behind us. In 2009 it was Thanksgiving, I remember mom had to go for a biopsy for a lump in her breast and of course curious me, I needed to know the outcome and that day we were there and I asked. I feel bad now, she didn’t want to burden everyone yet I brought it up wanting to know the outcome. She wanted to tell everyone after dinner.

Breast Cancer.

It turned out to be Stage 2 and she got a mastectomy and chemotherapy. She loved her work and tried to work as much as she could until it became just too much. We couldn’t even feel sorry for her, her positive attitude was infectious. She completed her treatments and got to return to work in 2010 which she loved.

Fast forward to June 2017. Mom is in so much pain and does not want to ‘bother’ anyone by being awake in pain and SLEEPS IN THE SHOWER sitting up because that relieved some pain.

Dad convinces her she needs to go to the hospital and long story short it ends up being Stage 4 breast cancer, it is now in her liver. She recently spent 11 days in the hospital due to a toxic reaction to a change in her chemotherapy.

So now, my mother, who has never, and I know will never, ask for help now will be in treatment for the rest of her life. Her doctor has said she has 3-5 years left. Knowing my mom and her amazing attitude we bank on much more, but it will be hard.

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Donations 

  • Laura Simonson
    • $50 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Justine Sparkes
Organizer
Victoria, BC

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