Help fund Catrin Steward's healing and solace

Hi, my name is Bethan and I'm raising money for my sister,
Catrin Steward.

Catrin has worked as a healer in many different modalities. You may know her from that
connection or from her art -
her exquisite photography. If
you know Catrin, you know
she is brilliant, and has a strong sense of social justice and fairness. Very unfairly, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer five years ago. Since then she has gone through multiple surgeries, and many treatments and trials.

Right now, she is in pain and it feels very difficult for her. Managing her pain with medication, physical therapy and other interventions has become a full time job. This is hard for those of us who love her to hear. Catrin needs more support from all of us who care for her and the greater community.

I am raising money to help with her medical and life expenses, which continue to increase as her disease progresses.  As her symptoms compound, so do her out of pocket costs. Co-pays, over the counter drugs, travel to and from appointments all cost money.  She urgently needs to access integrative medicine options to balance out the constant physical and emotional stress of treatment and disease. 

Please consider donating to help Catrin receive the care she needs. 

Catrin’s Story

Five years ago, in the course of an emergency room visit resulting from debilitating pain, Catrin received a life changing diagnosis. Biopsies and imaging revealed the details of a complicated and bleak assessment. She learned she had Triple Negative Breast Cancer, the most aggressive form of breast cancer with the fewest treatment options. By this time it was known, it had reached stage 4 and not considered curable. It was already present in her lymph nodes, lungs and sternum. Statistically, her chances of surviving longer than five years was about 20%. 
Amidst the flurry and trauma of learning about the disease and her options for treatment, she was also immediately advised to quit her job in order to qualify for health insurance. It was the first indication of how her life would be dominated by the physical, emotional, and financial demands of this illness.
The subsequent years have proved this. Chemo, radiation, surgery, more radiation, more chemo, immunotherapy, and more and more chemo are all hugely demanding endeavors. Even periods of relative ease have been taxed by the side effects, symptoms, and concerns 

of living with a terminal and disabling illness. 

There's been a turning point in Catrin's experience.

The clinical trial she was part of in Boston was unsuccessful. She then transitioned to receiving treatment more local to her home in Vermont, which was likewise ineffective. The next and current chemotherapy regime is also not yet showing success and causes blisters on her feet making it impossible to walk at times. Side effects from various medications have resulted in recurring weeks in bed with nausea, vomiting, fatigue and pain. 

All the while, the lesion in her sternum is growing and as it grows it is destroying the bone, leaving a wake of agony and untethered soft tissue.

Throughout these challenges, Catrin feels lucky to have the unwavering love of her family and friends.  With each crisis that passes, her strength and capacity are diminished and yet she continues to embrace life with gratitude and awe. With our help she can do so with more peace and comfort.