My name is Sarah Burbach. I'm a good friend of Nina's ever since we were college roommates in nursing school right on through the birth of our kids and working at the same hospital.

Nina has been unexpectedly diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer with metastasis to her liver and sacrum. Those who know Nina know she is a single mom with three growing boys ranging in age from 11-14. Nina and her boys have faced many challenges together from the very beginning; Nina’s strength, perseverance along with the boys incredible resilience have pushed through every year and every difficult challenge together.

Nina gets a mammogram every year because breast cancer runs high in her family. Her mammogram was clear last year and now her mammogram showed a mass and PET scan has shown metastasis to her liver and sacrum.

Nina has been a nurse at HCMC from the moment she graduated nursing school at St.Kates in 2011. She started in the Surgical Trauma Neuro Unit and stayed on that unit until 2024 where she took on a new role as Nurse Transplant (kidney) coordinator still at HCMC.

Stage 4 is not the standard Chemo, massectomy, radiation course. It is considered a chronic incurable illness managed by chemo pills for as long as the cancer and body is receptive to it.

Nina will have many medical bills and will likely miss many days of work because Chemo pills are still chemo, side effects and all. FMLA only covers 60% of her income. As you can imagine, a single mom with 3 boys and many medical bills…60% is just not manageable.

If you would like to contribute to Nina and the boys - anything - no matter the amount, is helpful!

UPDATE: If you are an employee at HCMC - PTO donations would have been wonderful.....But since Nina is not going to be on continuous FMLA (she will be intermittent FMLA for days after certain medications, appointments, etc), they will not allow any PTO donations. So please, if able, give to the fund instead.