Erin’s Army - Kicking Cancers A$$

My name is Eric Rosenberg and I’m raising money for my incredible wife Erin Wrigglesworth and her battle with breast cancer. Erin is 42 years old and has two beautiful children ages 8 and 10. Laila is her "mini-me" who is in grade 3 and Linkin is the more handsome version of me, who is in grade 5.
Erin was diagnosed with breast cancer December 30, 2020. After receiving a yearly mammogram from her family doctor in early December, he noticed that there was a lump in her breast. It just came out of nowhere and since breast cancer runs in the family, when she turned 40 she started receiving yearly mammograms. She then had a biopsy and the results concluded that she had a tumor in her breast.
This was the worst news we have ever received in our life, besides the sudden passing of her father in 2012. As scary as it was, we knew lots of people who have beaten breast cancer and have gone on to live healthy lives. Since Erin is the healthiest person I know, always eats right, rarely drinks, doesn’t smoke, is in incredible shape and is a competitive runner I thought she would be over this in a few months. 

We started her treatment at Oakville hospital and they decided to start with Chemo right away to prevent any spreading. After several tests, MRI’s, CT scan’s, etc. Just before her second treatment she received some horrible news. The cancer has spread to the lungs and it is incurable. From stage 2 to stage 4 in 2 weeks. How could this be happening? She just ran a 5k in under 20 minutes in December. Her lungs are amazing. This can’t be true. And the worst part is, because of COVID, I was not allowed to be in that meeting and she received the news by herself. When she walked in the house that day and explained the news I couldn’t believe it and still can’t.


After what seemed like hours of crying and trying comprehend what we just found out, we reached out to our parents to fill them in on the news. They were devastated and as shocked as we were. Now the scary questions start to get into your head.  Can this really be beaten? How long does she have? We have two young kids who adore their mom. How are they going to cope with the news? Will she ever be able to run competitively again? Will she be sick for the rest of her life? Will she be bald for the rest of her life? Is this the new normal?

Now what? Our oncologist from Oakville decided to stop treatment until we received the results from her PDL1 test. This test determines whether she is able to take immunotherapy drugs to fight the cancer. He said it should only take a couple of weeks for the results to come in. But, week after week her appointments were cancelled because of no results. Four weeks later, with nothing happening and no explanations from anyone, we decided to hire a private cancer consultant from Vancouver. She is a friend of my sister and comes highly recommended. Dr. Kate made numerous phone calls to hospitals around southern Ontario to try to find out if there our any clinical trials happening that Erin would be eligible for. Our family doctor had no luck, but somehow Kate found a way to secure a meeting with an amazing doctor from Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.  Now, we might get some answers.  After a successful meeting, in which we received more information in an hour than the entire time at Oakville, the oncologist suggested a few clinical trials that Erin may be eligible for. The just have to wait on results from that elusive PDL1 test. However, they agreed to take over, regardless of the results. Hooray!!!

Now, just a little bit more of a wait. We've waited 5 weeks, what's another week? Well that turned into two weeks, but we finally got the results and more bad news. Erin is PDL1 positive, which means she is unable to take immunotherapy to fight the cancer. So, now back to square one. Chemo, AKA Red Devil. She will be receiving Chemo treatments once a week for three weeks and then have a week off and continue until June, when they will do another CT scan to see if the cancer has gotten smaller. She currently just received her second chemo at PM and everything seems to be going well. 

Oh wait, another hiccup. Linkin just received a notification that a student in his class has tested positive for COVID. He should be quarentined at home for two weeks. Since Erin is immuno-compromised (low white blood cells from chemo) we decided it would be better off if she stayed with her mother until we await results from the COVID test. Now, she can't be with us for Easter. Now we can't even hug her when she needs it the most. Why is this happening to the most loving, thoughtful, caring, joyous person I know?

I have put together this fundraiser so we can cover the unexpected costs that arise with cancer. From medical bills, to private consultations, wigs, caps, gas and parking expenses. We are both Physical Education teachers who work in Peel and have great benefits, but were surprised when our insurance did not approve and cover certain drugs (especially the newer more experimental drugs. And since Erin is in stage 4 and her diagnosis is incurable, she will be going to Princess Margaret for the rest of her life or until a cure has been found. All hope is not lost, we are very optimistic people and we know that we are at the most innovative cancer hospital in Canada. They will find a cure, its just a matter of time. She is healthy and young and have a very strong will, so she will fight this with everything she has.  When this is all said and done and she has overcome the impossible, any money left over will be donated directed towards triple negative metastatic breast cancer research at Princess Margaret. 

We have set up a Facebook page under the heading "Erin's Army" that also updates the progress of her epic journey. Please join and follow if this story has compelled you in any way.