In February, my stepsister Alicia Megan Dean got a routine colon cancer screening, as we are all now advised to do at age 45. The colonoscopy revealed the presence of cancer, which was confirmed in a surgical procedure. Unfortunately, the surgery also revealed that the cancer was Stage 3A and had already spread to 4 of her 18 lymph nodes. She now faces the long road of both chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which she began last week.

As a solo parent of three kids, her youngest daughter a freshman in high school, and a grandma (Nonni) to two little ones ages 5 and 10, Alicia Megan is the sole provider for her family and will be facing a reduced income as she completes treatment.

At just 47 years old, we are praying that Megan will weather this challenge as she has many others in her life. March was Colon Cancer Awareness month; and the American Cancer Society reports that the disease is increasingly affecting younger people, with 50% of all Americans diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year now being aged 66 or younger. So her diagnosis certainly hits close to home.

If you know Megan, you know that she’s fiercely independent, and like many of us, is absolutely allergic to the idea of asking for, or accepting, help. (Her exact words when I said I wanted to do a Go Fund Me for her, were—and I quote—“I’d rather claw my eyeballs out.”) So that’s why I’m asking for your help on her behalf.

When life events like this happen, we all wish we could do something, but we often don’t know where to start. Helping to support Alicia Megan and her family right now would be an amazing way to provide both hope and concrete help for them all.

If each of us simply shared the $10 we’d spend buying lunch today, it would help buy gas for Megan’s eldest daughter Sydney to drive her to her chemo appointments. If several of us shared the $40 we might have spent on a new shirt, it could make up a car payment. The $75 we might spend on an evening out to dinner would mean helping to pay a month’s electric bill. If we felt called to share more, it could mean taking care of a house payment that Megan doesn’t have to worry about making.

As so many of you whose lives have been touched by cancer know, the ability to worry less about bills, and focus energy instead on healing, means everything. Plus, every gift not only helps financially, but also shows Megan how many people love her, are praying for her, and are rooting for her and her family.

Thank you so much for your positive energy, prayers, and support during this difficult time. We so appreciate anything that you feel called to give, and wish you and your family good health, and every happiness.