Helping My Sister During her Cancer Treatment

Hello, My name is Beverly (I'm on the right side). My sister Kathleen, lovingly known as Kathy(60) by friends & family, was born in Trinidad & Tobago. She resides alone in Brooklyn, New York and has worked as a childcare provider for 20 years, where she has helped many new parents during their first few years of life at home with their new baby. The families adored her so much, that they always requested her presence longer than usual. One family asked for her assistance for 14 yrs, and she maintains a loving relationship with the family and the now young adult to this day.

Kathy's life drastically changed on April 29th, 2022, when she was diagnosed with a rare form of Rectal-Anal Cancer. Her cancer went undiagnosed for some years and quietly progressed to stage 3. She had previously gone to the hospital for a simple hemorrhoidectomy on 4/25/22, only for the surgeon to discover during the procedure that the mass was not hemorrhoid but appeared to be cancerous.

Pathology was done on the mass, confirming that it was cancerous. Due to the delayed diagnosis, Kathy had to start aggressive radiation and oral chemotherapy on 7/11/22. She has to attend these sessions daily for seven weeks. These treatments' side effects include but are not limited to constant pain and burns at the radiation site, chronic fatigue, diarrhea, nausea, decreased appetite, sleeping problems, depression, anxiety and stress. Her daily life has been so affected that she cannot continue working. Once this round of radiation and chemotherapy concludes, Kathy will start on Chemotherapy infusion through a port every other week for 48 hours.

Kathy has many supportive friends and family. However, there are financial needs that we are unable to meet. At this point, we realized that we needed help from the community as she still has a long way to go on this journey. Kathy needs help with her rent, utilities, food and transportation to her radiation and chemotherapy sessions.

Her savings have been depleted, and I, along with some wonderful friends, have been trying to help her as much as we can.

On behalf of my family and friends & Kathy, we thank you for any help you can provide. xoxoxoxo