Help Support Tiffany’s Cancer Journey

My name is Taylor Boivin-Brawley, and I’m creating this go fund me to raise money for my sister, Tiffany Boivin-Brawley.

Tiffany, at the age of 33, has been diagnosed with stage 3C Endometrial Mesonephric-like adenocarcinoma. She recently underwent surgery to have a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and had a few lymph nodes removed as well. They originally diagnosed her with clear cell carcinoma prior to having surgery, but they were able to thoroughly test everything after removal to give her a proper diagnosis and found the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Due to the high grade and aggressive nature of this type of cancer, she will be starting with chemotherapy and radiation in the coming weeks.

When Tiffany first received her diagnosis, she was told her best chance to beat this was to remove her uterus and ovaries. She was fortunate enough to get into a fertility clinic right away in Toronto where she underwent an egg retrieval procedure in the hopes of having children through a surrogate in the future. The procedure itself is covered by health care, but the medications were not. The travel to and from the fertility clinic every few days, hotels, and medications she has needed for both her fertility preservation and surgery have been burdensome financially.

Since Tiffany works in the film industry, she is a contract worker and doesn’t receive vacation time or sick days. Not having paid time off is something we always take into account, but this diagnosis happened quick and was unexpected for her. It follows an unfortunately slow year last year in the film industry due to writer’s and actor’s strikes.

She does have some health coverage with a health spend account, but it barely made a dent in all of the health expenses she has already incurred and will continue to accumulate.

We were pushing through since she knew she was going to be returning to work, but with appointments and surgeries, she hasn’t been able to work as much as she needed to this year to cover her expenses through this journey. With upcoming treatments, she won’t be able to work for certain periods of time during what is typically the busiest time of the year for film industry workers.

Sister, Friend, President of IATSE 634. Tiffany wears a lot of hats, takes on a lot of responsibility, but always carries herself through any situation with a smile and professionalism whether it be work or just life. I’ve watched her reach out and help support many people in our work industry, and I know she could use some support herself during this time. So, I am reaching out on behalf of Tiffany to our family and friends, in hopes that we can come together and help Tiffany through this very difficult time. Any amount of financial help will definitely relieve some stress from her situation.

Tiffany is very grateful to everyone who has reached out to me or her to wish her well. It’s a journey none of us expected for her that’s for sure, and this year has already been a crazy one with a long way to go. The support she has already received emotionally means the world to our entire family. We truly appreciate all the words of encouragement. So to everyone who has reached out in any capacity, or has kept her in your thoughts, thank you!