Donate to Help Jane Get Treatment for Stage 4 Breast Cancer

Hi, I hope that you are well, safe and healthy. My name is Glee and I am fundraising for my younger sister, Jane, who is currently diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.

Jane is 40 years old. She´s a mother to a bubbly, highly achiever 9 year-old girl in the Philippines. Jane should be enjoying her time as a mom in the Philippines raising her daughter. But just like the story of many Filipino overseas contract workers, Jane hasn´t seen her daughter in person, hasn´t hugged her or put her to bed in the last five years. Instead, she is working hard as an all-around nanny/helper to a wealthy, influential family in Romania.

Janeś cancer could have been avoided if only her employers cared enough about her well-being more than they cared about money. Unfortunately for her, that wasn´t the case.

Three years ago, she found a lump in her left breast. She informed her employer about it and they went to the doctor for check-up. The doctor said it looked benign but it should be monitored every 6 months and if it starts to grow, they should surgically remove it.

But her Romanian doctor couldn´t speak English and Jane couldn´t speak Romanian, so it was her female employer who served as their interpreter. Yet instead of telling Jane exactly what her doctor said, her employer told her that she didn´t have to go back to the doctor because her lump was benign. She only had to self-monitor it.

Her female employer did not think that regular monitoring and surgery were necessary, especially that they would be paying for the said surgery including medicines. They also needed my sister to work. And since Jane wasn´t given a health insurance card, she could only go to the hospital if accompanied by her employer.

Three years later, my sister's lump suddenly grew in size and it's now an aggressive cancer. Her biopsy showed it´s her2 positive. It´s hormonal based and spreads very quickly.

Despite her diagnosis, things were moving very slowly for her. She is not a priority and her employers didn´t care about her situation. For instance, it took them more than three weeks to call the hospital for the biopsy result despite my sister begging them to promptly call the doctor. Despite having 30 days medical leave, her employers continued to order her to do heavy, manual tasks. She was also mentally stressed with the logistics of her treatment.

Her contract with her employers should be until 2027. But after her cancer diagnosis, they canceled her contract and she was to leave Romania in September 2025 after her replacement arrives.

So while agonizing with the knowledge that she has an aggressive cancer and she continues to perform her manual, laborious duties, she´s also very worried about how she can afford the treatment in the Philippines. Cancer treatment is expensive and in the Philippines, the big chunk of the cost is shouldered by the patient.

Within six weeks since the biopsy, her cancer metastasized rapidly. New tumors grew on her right breast, which breast had no tumors during the ultrasound guided biopsy of the original tumor in the left breast. There´s also now a new tumor in her liver and the cancer has metastasized to her bones.

Her situation is very serious. Yet when she complained to her employer that sheś in pain, she was told that sheś just acting.

Her cancer is advanced and she needs an aggressive treatment. But her employers` plan was for her to do a few cycles of chemotherapy in Romania and continue to work until their replacement nanny/helper arrives. Only then would Jane fly back to the Philippines to continue her treatment.

Initially Jane agreed to this plan because she wanted to have her treatment started right away and she worries about the cost of chemotherapy in the Philippines.

But as her older sister, I stepped in and advised her to go home to the Philippines as soon as possible and to start the treatment there where she will be looked after by our whole family. I told her that she will need a support system for this treatment and she won´t be able survive it alone, considering how her employers are treating her. Thankfully, I was able to convince her.

When my sister informed her employers of this decision, they got angry. They threatened her that if she follows what her older sister wants, she would not get any financial assistance from them.

I assured my sister that I will help her raise funds for her treatment through gofundme, and that she shouldn´t worry because God will provide for her treatment in the Philippines.

My sister wants to fight for her life for the sake of her young daughter. She knows that it will be a difficult, painful journey ahead but she is going to face it with all her might if only she can live longer and be with her daughter.

Yet the cost of cancer treatment is so expensive and it´s NOT free in the Philippines, my sister´s fight for her life will only be possible through your financial support.

The cost of breast cancer chemotheraphy without metastasis in the Philippines is 40,000€. My sister has metastasis. There is still radiation, scans, hormone therapy, and many things in between.

Here are some examples on how your donations will be used and how it can impact my sister´s cancer treatment:

2000€ - will pay for a whole cycle of chemotheraphy

1000€ - will pay for a few sessions of chemotheraphy

300€ - will pay for her bone scans

100€ - several 100s will add quickly for the next cycle of chemo

50€ - will pay for her transport from her home to the hospital where she will have the chemo

20€ - will pay for a meal

10€ - will add up to pay for a hospital stay

What does your financial help mean to my sister? It means she will have a chance to live longer and spend more time with her daughter. This is especially very important to her as she has spent many years working abroad away from her daughter.

Her daughter was only two years old when she had to leave her behind to work abroad.

Thank you so much for your generosity! I will be posting regular updates in the coming weeks.