Hi there, I’m Kirstan, Kyra’s sister, and I’m reaching out to you with the story of what’s been going on with Kyra, hoping you can help.

In July of 2022 Kyra was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer (TPBC), or her2+ and hormone+ invasive ductal carcinoma. She has spent months fighting this battle and now as she moves on to another new chapter in this saga, needs our support.

Kyra, a writer and journalist, is married to her soulmate, Patrick, and are raising two amazing children. They’ve always worked best as a team, and that’s how they’ve fought this cancer: together. Yet the financial cost of this on top of the emotional one has proven to be daunting.

When Kyra found the lump in her breast just days after a clean bill of health at the doctor’s, an immediate mammogram didn’t show anything wrong. But an ultrasound did. The biopsy that followed misdiagnosed her with a slow-growing, hormone-positive tumor that would only need a bit of radiation and a small lumpectomy. Thankfully, fate intervened and Kyra connected with

world-class breast surgeons at a nearby teaching hospital. There, they ran proper tests on the tumor, revealing it to be an aggressive type of cancer. It would require multiple surgeries, three months of weekly chemotherapy, a year of immunotherapy, years of hormone therapy

and a course of radiation treatment.

With this type of breast cancer, therapies continue because of its likelihood for recurrence. Active therapy will continue until October, and maintenance therapy, both standard of care and alternative, will be scheduled for years. Long-term treatment is how this cancer will stay away.

Due to the extensive therapies needed, Kyra and Patrick had to secure private health insurance in order for Kyra to continue receiving life-saving care. This unfortunately meant that they have to pay out of pocket for health insurance to maintain coverage.

The healthcare premiums alone total more than $1,000 each month. Yet even with medical coverage, they will face the huge burden of paying for maintenance treatment (not covered by insurance) to keep her cancer free. So not only do they need to pay for high monthly premiums, but many of the therapies and tests necessary will also cost hundreds of more dollars every single month for the foreseeable future. They also have huge deductibles that will need to be met before insurance pays anything. The costs are mounting and any contribution of any size will help, if you are able. Even sharing this fundraiser will be beneficial and appreciated. Your donation will help Kyra afford the treatments necessary as well as paying for the insurance premiums.

If you know Ky, you know she likes to do everything herself. But it’s time to allow others in to help carry this load. Kyra does not want to limit her kids’ lives because every penny goes to her healthcare. She wants to live to see those kids’ lives. She doesn’t want to be a financial burden to her family, causing them to drown in debt while she fights to stay healthy.

Being the big sister, Kyra has always tried to protect me and shelter me from whatever she could in life. She didn’t even want to tell me about the cancer until a few days before her surgery because she was worried about me. Unfortunately, cancer is not a stranger to our family as we lost both our parents to this dreadful disease, and Ky did not want me to be scared.

That is who she is. She has always been my role model, my defender, my biggest cheerleader, and my voice of reason when I need to be talked off a ledge. She was my first friend then and my best friend now.

So now it is my turn to protect her. Please join me in helping Kyra and Patrick during this difficult time. Together, we can provide them with the strength and resources they need to overcome this tremendous challenge, and get back to living life.

Since Kyra is a writer and she loves Stephen King, one of her favorite quotes is from the short story “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption:”

“It always comes down to just two choices. Get busy living, or get busy dying. Remember that hope is a good thing, Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

Thank you for helping Kyra find hope, and “get busy living” once again.