Help fund Ashley Culham's Cancer Treatment

Ashley Culham was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in January of 2019 after breaking her femur when she was a second-year student at the University of Regina. Over the past three years, Ashley has bravely undergone four different treatment regimens, including chemotherapy, radiation, chemo pills and an experimental treatment brought in from Europe. Ashley had her tumour removed and reconstructive knee surgery in Calgary, all while participating fully in her classes online. Ashley was accepted into the Animal Bioscience Program at the University of Saskatchewan in 2020. She continued to complete her courses online and remained home and away from any potential Covid-19 infection until the late summer of 2021 when she became ill and required a blood transfusion. At that time, x-rays showed aggressive progression of the cancer into her lungs. Doctors in Canada were unable to provide any treatment, so the Culham family researched alternative treatment options, and Ashley was accepted into a treatment program in Mexico.

 

Tim, Denise and Ashley travelled from Weyburn to Mexico in December of 2021. As they travelled, Ashley completed her online final exams. She continues to participate in her virtual classes at U of S while receiving many difficult and invasive treatments in a facility in Tijuana, Mexico. The treatments are experimental and expensive, and the Culham family is fully responsible for the cost. They have already spent about $75000CAD. These treatments have resulted in 8 days of hospitalization due to unforeseen complications, yet she has persevered through it all.

 

Unfortunately, Ashley has now contracted Covid-19, and the stay in Mexico will be much longer and more expensive due to the extensive recovery, which has required hospitalization yet again.

 

Many of you know Ashley; she may be a friend, she may have been a softball teammate, a classmate or a relative. You know of her work ethic, her perseverance and her profound love of animals. You also likely know how unselfish, proud and hard-working her parents are and how reluctant they are to accept or ask for help, always thinking someone needs it more than they do.

 

We want to raise funds to support Ashley and the Culham family through this difficult time. The medical expenses are significant, and her parents are both with her, leaving her brother, Austin, to independently run their farming operation in Weyburn. Please consider donating to support this wonderful family in their time of need.

Linda Neiszner, Ashley’s grandma, is in charge of withdrawing the funds from this fundraiser and transferring them to Tim and Denise due to the challenge of setting up the banking while out of the country.