Hello all, I’m Matthew. I am fundraising for my wife, Lalana (who some may know as author Piper J. Drake), who is fighting Stage IV Endocervical Cancer and hoping to finish writing a new fantasy novel - her last.

Lalana’s next round of treatment will cost 184k. We need help to cover the cost of this treatment and extend the time Lalana has to spend. I lost my job in January and we used all of our savings up last year. We are literally hoping to buy time. Time for Lalana to write. Time for me to spend with her. Time for a last few adventures together.

Backstory

21 months ago Lalana was misdiagnosed by doctors in the US. After symptoms and intense pain continued we went to other doctors for second and then third opinions. They all agreed, these symptoms might lessen with the onset of menopause so, “Wait 7 years… she’ll be fine…maybe. Or you can do surgery, but it isn’t necessary.”

Insurance called it ‘elective surgery’ and wouldn’t pay. Hormone therapy was also not covered. We traveled to Thailand so Lalana could keep writing while we paid out of pocket for a hysterectomy in December 2024. That surgery never happened. The doctors in Thailand discovered a malignant tumor. With further investigation, she was diagnosed with Stage IV (metastasized) cancer. They predicted she had 6-12 months to live.

BUT! Lalana is a badass and keeps beating the odds. She’s in month 15 of that 6-12 month window. She’s been through chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, emergency ileostomy surgery (with a 32 day hospital stay), and then another round of chemotherapy.

Throughout all of this, somehow, she never stopped writing. She never stopped encouraging me (Matthew) to work on my own creative work. Friends and family visited and she made sure to turn part of it into a working retreat so everyone else could work on their stories/etc.

That is who she has always been. She’s been a published author since 2010, first appearing as PJ Schnyder and volunteering to run writer bootcamps (organized by Linnea Sinclair) to help other new authors the moment she saw any bit of success. Her path has always been “the heroine's journey” - that of connection and integration. Later, under the pen name Piper J. Drake she continued to publish books and give back, teaching for ‘Writing Excuses’ and becoming a member of the board for ‘Writing the Other’. Alongside all of that she climbed the corporate ladder and helped get life-saving medications (some of which she has used in the last year) approved by the FDA. She spent years helping to run events and mentor, not to make money, but, as she loves to put it: ‘to help nifty people do nifty things.’

Where We Are Now

On February 20th she completed her second chemotherapy. On March 5th we walked into her oncologists office to find out the results of her post-chemo scan. He was hanging up the phone with the imaging department. He had been verifying that these were the images of the March 4th scan and not the previous one from 9 weeks ago.

They were the recent results.

Lalana was, again, given 6 months to live and… well, we almost lost hope.

BUT! Last week we helped her doctor team find a chemotherapy that has shown results in ‘off label’ use for people with her cancer. She needs to start asap. Insurance will not pay. Insurance refused to pay for the last chemotherapy.

The second chemotherapy drug totaled $88k USD. Hospital costs were another $40k USD.

This new (third) chemotherapy drug will cost $124k USD. Hospital costs will be $50-$60k USD.

Lalana hasn’t given up, so I won’t either. She promised her Mom to take her on a cruise to “see the fjords in Europe”. She found a 50% off sale and worked with her doctors to squeeze it in-between treatments. That would cost another $20-25k (flights + room, etc).

She’s sitting next to me in her wheelchair right now writing. In 30 minutes we go upstairs to meet her 13th doctor. This one is an ophthalmologist. The next chemotherapy can cause eye conditions and blindness. Lalana was practicing navigating her computer with a screen reader last night when she thought I was working and wouldn’t hear.

Please Help if You Can!

Lalana is not going to let this stop her. Let’s fight beside her. If we raise 184k she can complete this treatment. If we raise 204k she can fly home to say goodbye to her younger sister, her nephews, her younger brother, and her father. She can sign her name on the DragonSteel Nexus wall (she desperately wants to live until q4 2027 to be there in person).

At 338k we can pay off loans we took out for the second chemotherapy. If we raise 358k she can keep her promise to her mom and take her to see the fjords. With 422k I can spend less time job hunting and more time taking care of her. Selfishly I want that. I don’t want to be alone and I don’t want to miss a moment of the time she has left.

If you are able to contribute, no amount is too small. If you can’t donate, sharing this page means just as much. Every message, every share, and every bit of support reminds us that we’re not fighting alone.

5 Things you can do right now to help

Optional: Have a hashbrown with us on infusion days

Thank you. Now let’s keep fighting hashbrownies! สู้ๆ!