Julia de’Caneva’s Cancer Fund

Whether you know Julia from her hometown of Chicago, University in Iowa, a yoga class or softball game in Los Angeles, or any other walk of life, one thing is for certain, Julia is a wonderful person and friend who urgently needs our help. Her thyroid cancer is progressing and proving to be tricky to track and predict. In plain English: it’s become much more life-threatening, with treatment options narrowing. She was first diagnosed in October of 2018 at age 29, and had back-to-back recurrences in 2022 and 2023.

We (Sandy, Natalie, and Leslie) met Julia at yoga years ago, and her incredible energy and positivity has changed our lives for the better. We want to do whatever we can to help her financially so she can access treatments that are incredibly expensive, most of which are not covered by insurance (she is currently fighting her insurance to get a simple PET scan). Not only are we doing this for Julia, but for anyone who has the opportunity to cross paths with her as she has so much to offer this world.

Any donation large or small will support Julia and her husband, Ryan during this challenging time. Costs include upcoming treatments and appointments (both Western and Eastern), supplements, complementary therapies (i.e. acupuncture, reiki, talk therapy, etc), as well as professional trainings. Through these trainings, her goal is to ultimately integrate her healing journey into a health coaching practice that will support others in their own healing journeys.

Julia and Ryan, 5 years into this cancer experience, are feeling the cumulative toll it has taken, especially on their finances. These back-to-back recurrences have shaken the foundation of Julia’s income, preventing her from working while simultaneously raising her expenses astronomically. Living in LA is both a blessing and a burden: all of Julia’s fantastic care is within a 5 mile radius, but the cost of living is incredibly challenging on one salary (even without extreme medical expenses). Even with health insurance (graciously provided by Ryan) looking ahead at the medical bills, appointments, and treatments to come, the reality is that cancer is really f-ing expensive. This year alone, she has spent $40,000+ on cancer related expenses and there are still 3 months left. Julia has had to take a step back from work, both because of the side effects from her ongoing medications and treatments, as well as to keep her stress levels at a minimum, which aids in lowering her persistent inflammation.

While Julia believes in the knowledge of Western medicine, she equally believes in the power of Eastern medicine and other healing modalities. But of course, health insurance doesn’t view it as valid, and often doesn’t cover any of the appointments, supplements, and only a small portion of the treatments. She works closely with an oncology naturopath, osteopath, and nutritionist to support her body holistically.

She keeps a very detailed blog about her cancer experience, which you can find on her blog here.

Not one to ask for help herself, that’s why we are here. Let’s rally around and support Julia so that she can have the longest life possible by supporting her access to important, life-saving treatments.