I'm not going to lie...

It took me a week to even start writing this. I've been searching for the words to say:

My sister has cancer and I need your help saving her.

My little sister, Annie, was just diagnosed with triple positive invasive ductal carcinoma. Because of the size of her tumor, they opted to start with chemo followed by surgery. She will need six cycles of chemo over six months, at which time she will have another scan to determine the affects of the chemo. After that, she will have surgery and possibly radiation.

I wish that I could say her battle would end there. Once initial treatment is completed, she will require 5 years of maintenance medications. She will also be given medication to induce menopause because the type of cancer she has feeds off of hormones, making it more aggressive than other types of cancers.

To obtain the most positive outcome she will require a lot of rest and relaxation and the least amount of stress as possible. This is where you come in and save the day.

The side effects of chemo are nausea, minimal vomiting controlled by medication, foggy head, fatigue, joint and bone pain, and hairloss. It would be a privilege we can't afford on our own for Annie to not have to work during this time. No one should have to while going through chemotherapy. As such, she is hoping to take time off from work for those six months.

The costs will be considerable. While insurance and her husbands income can cover some of the costs, this would be a huge burden and additional stressor. Here is a breakdown of the costs:

Medications - $60 (maybe more)

All other medical costs (after insurance) - $800 (possibly more)

Lost wages - $4524/month ($27,144 for six months)

Total-$28,004

Listen, I know that most of us are really struggling financially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It's even a comfort that you care enough to read this far. You may, may not, know who I am, but I can tell you all about my baby sister. She is only 44 years old. She is a mother to two teenage boys, one of whom just graduated from high school and the other, not far behind. Her and her husband, Ryan, have been married for 19 years. Annie is also a school teacher; one of the most undervalued, under appreciated, and underpaid professions in our country. Our entire family is working class and multiply marginalized and a cancer diagnosis, like so many families, has the ability to completely devastate us.

I know a lot of us are trying to figure out what we are supposed to do to help all those who are suffering, frozen while we are wondering what actions to take to stop it. I can't sit here and say this is more important, but you'll give us a little hope and you will help save my little sister. I don't have the money and I don't have the power to do more than to humbly ask for your hard earned money, but I have to try. Anything helps.

Thank you in advance.