Update: 5/12/2023 Hello Family and Friends, Imogen would like to thank everyone who has generously donated to her treatment. She has received funds from this GoFundMe campaign and directly to her from donors. Imogen’s journey is not over and her treatments continue to progress and the bills are starting to grow. Imogen’s medical costs for the completion of the treatment will be $13100 USD*. Please family and friends, could you all dig deep this Mother’s Day and contribute to our Beloved Imogen, a mother of 3 wonderful children.

*GoFundMe has been set up in Canadian Dollars

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Life is so unpredictable, and just when you think you are going through tough times, the situation takes a turn. My lifelong friend and her family are facing a really challenging time right now, and while she has gone through the worst time and is in remission, her journey is not over; her situation requires immediate attention as her medical team recommends she starts an urgent course of treatment. Friends and family have been a great support in her journey so far, but more help is needed.

I will let Imogen tell her story:

“My name is Imogen James, and I live in Mutare, Zimbabwe, where I was born and raised. I am supported by my family, my loving Husband Conrad, and our three beautiful children, Monique, (seeking employment) Marcus and Lauren (who are still in school). We live in the same house as my elderly parents, and provide care for them. Conrad and I are not permanently employed, and work on contract when we can, as it is very difficult to find full-time employment. As you all know, it is a fight to survive in Zimbabwe.

My whole world took a turn for the worst, when in February 2021, I discovered a lump in my left breast. This was extremely scary for me and my entire family. Especially when you are not financially stable and have no medical aid or health insurance to help you in a medical emergency. I was very fortunate to find medical specialists in Mutare that offered to do the initial scans and tests, as well as a surgeon who had started a clinic for those financially challenged and offered medical expertise and treatment all at a reasonable rate. I had to undergo the initial biopsy which confirmed the presence of HER2 positive breast cancer. Due to the aggressive nature of this type of cancer and the size of the lump, the only form of treatment was not only to remove the lump in October 2021, but also undergo a single mastectomy in January 2022. This had to be followed by intravenous chemotherapy over six, three-week cycles, ending in July 2022, during this time I lost all my hair. The period during the treatment was really hard on my family, and on my body.

As any breast cancer patient will know, this is quite a journey to undertake, physically, emotionally, mentally, and of course financially . I have been very blessed to be able to remain positive in the face of all this adversity. Faith and trust that things will work out as they are meant to, have kept me and my family going through this journey. We have been so very fortunate to have amazing support from Medical teams (hospitals, doctors, nurses, pharmacists) , family and friends from all walks of life, and all over the world to get through these stages. As of November 2022, three months after the end of the initial chemotherapy, tests and reviews, I am so excited to be in remission!

However, due to the very aggressive nature of HER2 positive cancer, to reduce the high risk of recurrence of the cancer, the oncologist has recommended that I need to continue a targeted therapy using trastuzumab in a 3 week cycle over 52 weeks. This means 17 more treatments of intravenous targeted therapy. The costs of treatment not only include the drug itself, but also the hospital charges for administering it, more tests and medical specialist consultation fees. Each session would cost approximately USD 1095.00. This includes the cost of the drugs (USD 800) as well as hospital charges to administer the drug intravenously, tests and doctor reviews (USD295). My fundraising goal over the next 52 weeks is a total of USD 18615.00*.

Any help at all would be so appreciated, I have a strong desire to live a full life and be wife and mother that my family needs. I know these are tough times, however I am pleading for each one of you to contribute what you can so I can continue this fight”

We anticipate that there will be more tests and medication that Imogen will need over the course of her ongoing treatment and due to this we are setting fundraising goal of USD$20000, which will also include fees for GoFundMe and transfer of the funds to Imogen

*The Goal on GoFundMe is listed in Canadian Funds, this will be converted to USD and sent to Imogen