How would you feel if a pain you thought was just a pulled muscle turned out to be something far more serious? That’s what happened to my mom, Cara Jan, two and a half years ago.

A simple chest x-ray revealed unexpected masses in her lungs. After biopsies and scans, she learned that a fibroid she’d lived with for years had turned into uterine cancer that had spread to her lungs—a rare and serious diagnosis.

True to form, my mom didn’t fall apart. She calmly asked her oncologist what came next and got to work facing it head-on. At 80 years old, she still runs her local senior center, where she’s been the heartbeat of the community for 17 years. She manages activities, plans events, and keeps her seniors laughing and connected—even during chemo weeks.

Despite ongoing infusion treatments, she hasn’t taken time off. She shows up every day, often the only one in the chemo chair with full makeup, jewelry, and a beautifully styled wig. That’s my mom: unshakably positive, even in the hardest moments.

I grew up watching her work tirelessly as a single mom, raising my sister and me while juggling jobs—everything from private investigator and freelance writer to photographer for a sports magazine. She even ran a wake-up service, calling people early each morning to get them going. Our childhood was never dull, and we always knew she was giving us everything she had.

She still gives everything. Every morning at 4:00 a.m., she’s up feeding stray cats before work. She takes care of the neglected ones, pays for their food and vet care herself, and even helps the ones that gather at the senior center. It’s simply who she is—someone who never stops caring.

Now it’s our turn to care for her.

This campaign will help cover the copays for her ongoing chemotherapy—which have become overwhelming—and fund a new hearing aid for her only good ear. My mom has had hearing loss since high school and lost total hearing in her right ear years ago. Her current hearing aid is over ten years old and failing fast. The new model her audiologist recommends is costly, but it would make an enormous difference in her daily life and work.

Even through pain, fatigue, and hearing loss, she never stops giving. Our goal is to raise enough to ease her burden, keep her thriving, and remind her that she’s not alone in this fight.

If you’ve ever met someone whose kindness fills every corner of a room—that’s Cara. And if you can help, in any amount, you’ll be helping her continue to live and give in that same spirit of love she’s always shared with others.

Thank you for being part of her story.