Support Marie Through Stage 4 Breast Cancer

Hello, everyone. My name is Alaya Conway, and I am reaching out on behalf of Marie Novakowski, the beloved mother of my dear friend Emily Rogers.

After facing life-altering circumstances earlier this year, from abruptly losing her housing and financial stability to dealing with large amounts of chronic stress due to a traumatic and abusive ongoing spousal separation, Marie was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage three lobular breast cancer (HER2-negative) on July 8th. The cancer has been confirmed to be in its late stages, highly aggressive, and has spread rapidly to several of her lymph nodes. Due to the size of the cancerous growth, a mastectomy has been scheduled for September 3rd in Victoria to remove the tumour and to get Marie closer to being cancer-free.

Marie has the additional support of a hematologist regarding her surgery, as she also struggles with a rare blood clotting disorder, which can cause excessive blood loss during operations. As a result, she is at an additional risk for this procedure, which entails extra supplements, specialist visits and travel expenses to prepare her for her mastectomy.

Accompanying the removal of the tumour on her breast, she will also be having several of her lymph nodes removed. Due to her blood clotting disorder and the risk of post-surgery lymphedema, Marie’s recovery will have to be extended to make sure all her insitions heal correctly and that she has minimal blood loss or clotting issues post-surgery.

Alongside these health stressors and complications, Marie is also experiencing incredible financial stress, as she’s unable to work at this time. Due to her losing her previous long-term housing and economic security and her current unemployment status, Marie doesn’t have secure housing or income to support her through recovery, leaving her stranded with very few options. She has had to stay with friends, house sit and find accommodation anywhere she can to get by, which is not stable or sustainable as moving around constantly is adding incredible amounts of stress to her plate while she’s navigating her cancer diagnosis. Currently, Marie is staying with a friend; however, this housing situation is only temporary. It is located in a more remote area of central Vancouver Island, which requires Marie to travel constantly for long days on highways to get to medical appointments, which is costly and exhausting. This current living situation also requires her and her adult daughter, Emily (who travelled back to Canada from abroad to support her mum as her full-time caregiver), to share a tiny one-bedroom, which again is not sustainable for someone living with Marie’s condition. Relocating Marie to the South Island with a long-term rental is of the utmost importance to ensure she can have a smooth recovery and deep rest as she needs to, with less travel and more accessibility to resources she may need. Ideally, we need to find Marie a new home in Duncan, Mill Bay, or Greater Victoria, as most of her treatments and medical appointments are here in the city. Lastly, Marie is still in the waiting stages of being accepted for disability assistance or further government support due to her condition; all of that is still in the unknown stages of confirmation, and it could be months until she can get her case approved, as she does not have a supportive family doctor willing to advocate for her case to get expedited. All of this added uncertainty and obstacles are what make Marie’s condition so acute.

On behalf of this family whom I care so deeply for, I am reaching out to our communities to request financial assistance to help Marie through these next 12-24 months of recovery and further treatment. The financial aid requested will support and fund the costs of rent, medication, groceries, utilities, accessibility aids, and gas, as well as cover the expenses to move Marie into stable housing closer to the Greater Victoria area.

Marie is a mother, a friend, a gardener, a baker, a dog lover, and a home cook extraordinaire. She’s an incredibly courageous and resilient individual who’s already overcome so much on her own. She deserves to have this stress lifted off her so she can put her energy into spending time with her children and caring for herself on this journey to overcoming such a life-changing circumstance.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration and for reading Marie’s story. Your support is deeply appreciated. If you have any further questions or concerns or want to offer private support of any kind, please contact Marie’s daughter, Emily, as she will be Marie’s primary caretaker during these upcoming months.

You can find Emily on Facebook or contact her via email:

[email redacted]

Please hold Marie in your prayers during this very challenging time.