Please help SueAnn Lush In treatment and recovery

Hi there, my name is Angie Hanrahan. For the past few months, I have been approaching my beautiful Sister in law, Sue-Ann (Hanrahan) Lush, in hopes she'd allow me to assist her in this journey. A journey she has not chosen, but yet has just begun. Being the feisty, hard-working, headstrong woman that she is, she flat-out explained to me just how uncomfortable she is with asking for help. Sue-Ann is the type of person who is always first to help. She's elbows deep in whatever's on the go, before you even realize you need the help, yourself. BUT, what she didn't realize is that accepting help is not a weakness, it is STRENGTH!

This past summer during a visit "home" to Marystown and St. John's NL, Sue-Ann quietly mentioned she’d recently felt a lump in her breast. I tried to reassure her, 

not to worry, as it is probably a hormonal issue and to see her doctor at her convenience, that that would set her mind to rest.

Roughly two months after our amazing visit, we heard from Sue-Ann that the lump was cancerous, that more tests were required and that they were unable to provide more information at this time. This was a very stressful time for our family. Sue-Ann, being Sue-Ann, continued powering on, working with home care for seniors, volunteering to help others, being the family rock and positive bright light and continuing to care for her family as per usual.

Sue-Ann and Shannon married in 2004. In 2005, they found out they were expecting triplets!! This was super exciting for all of us!! Melanie, Marcus and Matthew, or as we refer to them, the M &M's. Just as the triplets had approached their 13th birthday, Sue-Ann found herself not feeling great. She just couldn't shake that ill feeling. Turns out, she was six months pregnant!! What a shock to all of us, especially to her and Shannon! With this beautiful family now complete, these incredible almost 17-year-olds have had no choice but to face this new reality, trying their best to understand the basics of what's happening with their mom's health. They have been incredible in helping out and doing whatever is needed to be done. Our little surprise miracle man, Mason, is only 3. Mason is completely incapable of understanding why he's not able to have the same snuggles with mommy after she's just undergone a double mastectomy surgery, or why mommy is leaving for hours without her usual sidekick, attending numerous medical appointments and chemotherapy treatments. Mason doesn't understand why mommy is so tired and needs to rest instead of playing outside, going for walks or reading their favourite story books. As Nan and Pop have been there to help as best they can, it's still very confusing for his sweet little mind to understand.

Sue-Ann was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She has an incredibly confident team of physicians and oncologists who've created a treatment plan of double mastectomy surgery, 20 weeks of chemotherapy followed by radiation.

This is already going to be a challenging time for this sweet family to endure and unfortunately Employment Insurance will not be able to cover the treatment duration by many many months.

My goal with this fundraiser is to ensure the needless stress of affording everyday life is lifted, allowing Sue-Ann and her family to focus on the only thing that has any importance, health and healing. Nothing more.

When we hear about situations like this, we all want to help because we feel helpless. Sue-Ann allowing me to create this campaign has helped me as much as I hope it helps her. No donation is too small. Every dime counts and is greatly appreciated. If you don't have a dime to spare, that's ok too. I believe a positive thought for the person/people affected is equally as beneficial.

Thank you in advance for all your support. We will update Sue-Ann's progress as time goes on.

Sincerely,

Angie Hanrahan