Help Us Save Karina Rondberg — A Mother Fighting to Breathe, Fighting to Stay

Karina Rondberg is 40 years old.

She is a devoted, fiercely loving mother to two beautiful girls — Sasha (13) and Daniella (10) — who are her entire world.

Karina is a single mother and the primary breadwinner for her family. Her parents are currently here in Toronto, taking on major living expenses and supporting Karina through this crisis. They are helping shoulder the burden of raising her daughters so that Sasha and Daniella can continue to experience a sense of “normal” — something almost impossible for children whose mother is in the ICU fighting for her life.

At 37, Karina was diagnosed with ER-positive breast cancer. Her first line of treatment worked well for approximately a year and a half. Since then, she has undergone four additional lines of anti-cancer therapies, each pursued with courage, each heartbreakingly unsuccessful.

Yet even as cancer progressed, Karina never stopped showing up.

While undergoing chemotherapy, she continued working full-time, refusing to let cancer define her. She did not take sick days. She did not ask for help. She remained a highly respected team leader at one of North America’s leading banks, determined to remain independent, strong, and a role model for her daughters and community.

In recent weeks, Karina’s condition has deteriorated significantly. Cancer has spread throughout her lungs and bones, leaving her dependent on an oxygen tank, in constant pain, and struggling to breathe. On December 7, she was admitted to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and placed in the ER in isolation after developing a high fever related to chemotherapy. Doctors have since confirmed further progression of the cancer in her lungs and around her heart.

Karina is now in the CCU, fighting for every breath.

Today, her last remaining hope is access to a novel cancer therapy called Trodelvy — a medication that could stop the aggressive metastatic progression in her lungs and give her the chance to return home to her daughters.

But there is a devastating barrier.

The government has declined to cover this treatment.

The cost is $15,000 per week.

As the sole provider for her children, and with her parents taking on as much as they can to maintain stability, the urgency to help Karina and her girls could not be greater.

Karina’s dream is heartbreakingly simple:

to live long enough to see her daughters graduate high school.

Karina is the kindest, most determined, and most giving person within her community — a woman who has spent her life lifting others, leading with compassion, and never asking for anything in return. Today, we are asking for her.

Please help us save Karina.

Every donation — no matter the size — brings us one step closer to giving her the fighting chance she deserves. If this treatment is unsuccessful, any remaining funds will be used to support Karina’s family and her daughters during this unimaginably difficult time.

This is a moment that calls for humanity, compassion, and action.

During this holiday season, we tell our children that miracles are possible.

Please help us create one — for Karina, for her daughters, and for everyone who loves her.

Karina is our beacon of light.

Please help us keep her shining.

קרינה רונדברג היא אם מסורה לשתי בנות מדהימות, סשה (13) ודניאלה (10), שנלחמת בימים אלו על חייה. לאחר שנים של מאבק אמיץ בסרטן השד, המחלה התפשטה לריאות ולעצמות, וקרינה נאבקת כעת על כל נשימה. הוריה שהגיעו לטורונטו לוקחים על עצמם הוצאות מחיה כבדות ותומכים בה בגידול הבנות, כדי שלבנותיה יהיה "חיים נורמליים" ככל האפשר, למרות שמצבן אינו רגיל כשאמא שלהן נמצאת בטיפול נמרץ בבית החולים. קיימת תרופה חדשנית שיכולה לעצור את התקדמות המחלה ולאפשר לה לחזור הביתה אל בנותיה — אך היא אינה ממומנת ועלותה עצומה. אנו פונים אליכם בבקשה מעומק הלב: עזרו לנו להעניק לקרינה סיכוי אמיתי להמשיך לחיות, להיות אמא, ולהישאר האור שהיא עבור כולנו.