Hi, my name is Sarah. I am a proud mother of two teenagers and a loving husband. I live a very active an healthy lifestyle and I made a career as a Personal Trainer for the last 23 years.

Last February, I came down with symptoms related to a gall bladder attack which were changes in urine colour, yellowing of the eyes and severe pain in the abdomen and back. I admitted myself into the hospital where they did a CT Scan. In the scan, they found that a mass from my pancreas was blocking the bile duct and was giving me gallbladder attack symtoms. The gall bladder situation was somewhat resolved when a stent was put in where the blockage was.

After further testing, I was diagnosed with Type 4 Pancratic Cancer. I was absolutely stunned when I heard this. How could this happen to me? What did I do to get cancer? Over the last few months, I have attributed it to just plain being unlucky.

I started chemo treatments in April 2021. The first treatment knocked me off my feet. As they start everyone at the same level, I had severe nausea and could barely get out of bed.

Over time, the chemo got to a good place and I was able to function. In August, I had a CT Scan which showed a reduction in the size of my cancer mass! This was so exciting. I was feeling good as well.

Then in November, I started getting back my gallbladder attack symptoms. I had 2 endoscopy treatments to deal with the gall bladder which took a while to resolve. I also got another CT Scan. This scan showed that the tumour was starting to grow again and my chemo treatment wasn't working.

So, we are starting a new treatment. I asked my oncologist if I would be on chemo for the rest of my life and it seems that could be the case until I have exhausted all options. The new treatment costs $3000/mth and that's with 50% of it being covered! My extended health plan doesn't cover it. Getting the funds so I can extend my life has been very stressful. The fact it isn't fully covered is frustrating, to say the least.

Over the last year, I have been learning how to ask for and receive help and this is a big ask.

If you could donate whatever you can to help and share it with anyone else who may be able to donate it would be greatly appreciated.