My name is Katherine, I am 50, and last year I was diagnosed with stage III ER/ PR positive breast cancer. That is still such a surreal statement to type – stage III breast cancer. I remember feeling my world closing in on me, like a gigantic fist was crushing me, and all the air was sucked out of the room when the doctor gently broke the news. I knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

This ordeal has been the hardest test that I have ever been in – six months of chemo, a double mastectomy, and 25 rounds of daily radiation. I still weep thinking about the first time that I saw myself after my surgery. I know that the physical scars will leave me, but the mental scars will be with me for a very long time.

I wouldn’t have been able to make it through without the loving support of my husband, my sister, and my mother. They lifted me up when I was weak and were my gatekeepers. My husband was my champion because he held me when I didn’t think I could go on. He help me find my courage when I lost it countless times.

Why we are requesting money is for the "surprise" hospital bills that have started popping up this year. We are a single income family because I stopped working in 2012 due to a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.

Plus, to add insult to injury, earlier this year my dear 81 year old mother just had her own cancer journey with endometrial cancer.

Every dollar, every share, every prayer makes a difference. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read this.