Help Karen Brookes Fight Pancreatic Cancer

In March, our beloved Karen Brookes received the devastating news no one ever wants to hear: she has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Since then, her days have been filled with tests, appointments, and tough conversations -- fighting for her life, gripped by the terrifying uncertainty of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Karen has always been the strong one. A mother to three beautiful children—Niki, Noura, and Nolan—she’s poured her heart into raising them with love, grit, and compassion. When her husband walked out at the beginning of the pandemic, she was left to shoulder everything alone.

For 30 years, Karen has been the heart of her Niagara community, serving up more than just great food at Cosmo’s Diner. She’s built a space that feels like home—where everyone is welcome and everyone is fed, body and soul. She’s hired, mentored, and mothered generations of young people, many of whom still come back, long after their first shifts, to sit across from her and share their lives.

But now, Karen needs us.

This diagnosis has stripped away her ability to work. She’s in pain. She’s exhausted. And she’s fighting for her life. Meanwhile, her landlord is trying to evict her from her restaurant, Cosmo’s Diner, that has been the community's lifeline for three decades. The legal bills are piling up. The regular bills keep coming, and Karen, who has given everything to everyone else needs help.

All funds raised will go directly towards:

Covering legal and household expenses

Providing living support for Karen and her children

Ensuring Karen can access the medical care, prescriptions, transportation, and assistance she needs for this fight

Karen has been there for all of us. She’s fed us, listened to us, believed in us—and now it’s our turn to show up for her.

Please give what you can. Let’s lift the financial burden off her shoulders so she can focus on the one thing that matters most right now: fighting for her life.