Hi, I'm Stevie and I started this Go Fund Me for my friend Leah King-- a single mom, a fellow nomad, and an all around good human. If you don't know her, let me tell you, she's one of the most uplifting and generous people you could meet, and I hope you get the privilege one day. She'll light up the room with her easy smile and go out of her way to make you feel comfortable. So when I learned how incredibly overwhelmed and stressed she is right now as she navigates this scary, complicated cancer journey while still providing support and love for her two boys--who are doing everything they can to help her--I knew I needed to ask our collective community to join the fight.

If you can afford to give, I humbly ask you to help this beautiful woman get the testing and treatment she needs to beat breast cancer so she can get back to raising her two amazing boys.

In Leah's own words, this is where she's at in her journey right now:

Hi, I'm Leah. I’m 52, a Barbados/American mom living in Portugal with my two boys.

For the past six years, I’ve been the only parent in their lives. Their father left suddenly in 2019 to pursue a new life, severed all support and contact, and since then, it’s just been the three of us. We don’t have any family here in Portugal, so everything day-to-day falls on me. But we make a great little team of three.

This year I finally finished a long (and very expensive) divorce process that dragged on in Portugal for 5–6 years. At the same time, I’ve been dealing with a lot of unexplained health issues for over two years, just feeling “off” and not myself. Tests and doctors have been the norm for us.

Then in October, just a few weeks after my divorce was finally finalized, I got the news no one is ever prepared for: I was diagnosed with Stage IA ER+/PR+ breast cancer.

I lost my dad when I was 16, and he was only 46. His cancer was in the same chain that mine is, and I remember clearly his surgery scars. My first cousin passed away from breast cancer at 57. My grandmother also died of cancer very young. So yes, the fear is real. But I’m doing everything I can medically, staying proactive and positive, and I have precious family and friends who lift me up with love constantly.

Given my health and family history, my doctors in Lisbon are recommending a LOT of testing--genetic, blood, and nuclear--all of which are quite expensive but necessary to determine our next course of action, which could range from radiation and chemotherapy to full mastectomy/reconstruction and hysterectomy. All of my care has to happen in Lisbon, which is about 3.5 hours from where I live, so I’m on buses with my sons every week for tests, scans, and appointments.

It has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to navigate. I’m trying to take in this entirely new world without getting overwhelmed. I’m constantly exhausted and scared and weepy some days, and then laser-focused and sharp on other days. I take it day by day. My boys have been scared and worried too, and they come with me to every single appointment for 100% support. It’s incredibly unfair that cancer is affecting them as well.

Even this early diagnostic stage has already brought a pile of medical, travel, and recovery costs, and there’s a long road ahead. I’m doing everything I can to stay hopeful and focused, but the financial side is honestly overwhelming, especially as a single mom doing this in a foreign country.

Any support truly helps and will go directly toward:

I’m extremely grateful that the cancer was caught early. The treatment is complex, but the outlook is hopeful. I just want to be around for my boys, and to get through this without the constant fear of financial instability hanging over me.

The support, messages, and kindness I’ve already received, from friends in many different countries, mean more than I can say. Doing this without family nearby is hard, but the love I’ve felt makes me feel far less alone. And that is what I am holding onto on the days when I feel just so overwhelmed….I know that I am not actually alone. So thanks for that!!!

Thank you for reading, for caring, and for helping us get through this chapter. I’m staying strong, and would honestly give you all a hug if I could…that would be SO good!!

Leah