Help Ivy Overcome Cancer AGAIN: Supporting a Woman Who’s Spent Her Life Supporting & Fighting for Others

End of January 2026 Update:

I saw the plastic surgeon and have opted not to do reconstructive surgery. The double mastectomy is scheduled for 2/5/26. One week from today. I am as ok as I can be with the surgery. I have a peace about it.

The bigger issue is the financial piece, which of course is why I am here. The most recent estimate (this morning, 7 days from surgery) is for $106,000. This amount is after a 40% self-pay discount from the hospital. I am currently not as concerned about the overall cost.

My concern at this point is the prepayment needed before surgery of $27,000. Last week's estimate was $16,000 due at the time of surgery, and I was loaned that amount from someone very kind and generous. Now to come up with another $10,000 in the next week.

I will spare you my rant on how the hospital expects people to come up with $27,000 in a couple weeks time. Frustrating, infuriating and concerning. I feel for people who don't have the means and support at all.

I have checked into the many resources that people have sent my way with none of them being available to me for various reasons.

If you can please share this with as many people as possible, I would appreciate it so much! As always, thank you so much for support in whatever way you offer it!

January 2026 New update:

In 2025, I completed cancer treatment at the end of June, was feeling good, and making strong attempts to create positive changes in my life. Life was feeling good!

October 2025, I went in for the follow up that created the need for a total of 9 mammograms for both breasts, one ultrasound and a biopsy on the right side (the non-cancerous side), both breasts came back clear from cancer. So yay!!! That was a huge relief. To not have to think about cancer and having the thoughts running around in the back of my little head was freeing.

Then at the end of November, I noticed a new lump on the left breast where the cancer had been previously. Quickly got a mammogram and ultrasound completed, which resulted in 2 biopsies. Once again in December (last year and this year), I received a call indicating the cancer had returned. Well that sucked! :) Surgeon suggested a mastectomy and chemo due to having 5 concerning areas.

I am currently waiting my scheduled consult on 1/15/26 with the plastic surgeon to discuss reconstructive surgery.

Financial update and transparency: I still do not have insurance due to being a small business owner. About the time I was going to check into it, then I got the new diagnosis.

I don't qualify for Medicaid or financial assistance with the hospital, as I make too much money. I have checked into a couple nonprofit organizations, but they are not accepting new applications currently. So I am making effort to find funding outside of Go Fund Me.

I have a health share which reimburses for many of the expenses, but definitely not all, and not up front which the hospital requires before doing the surgery.

Currently, I am in medical debt from the cancer about $50,000. That's what was not covered from the first round, and some of the more recent expenses.

I don't know the cost of everything yet, but should know after meeting with the plastic surgeon.

This is very difficult for me to come to everyone for financial support again. I have been very independent and financially self-sufficient most of my life. My ego has a hard time asking for help.

Many of you have asked how you can help and support, so here is one option if this calls to you. Please do not feel any obligation. I know that it will all work out somehow and God will provide for me. But if you do choose to help me financially, please know that I am very very grateful and appreciative... more than words can describe.

If you can please share this story through this GoFundMe, I appreciate that, too.

Thank you so very much from the depth of my heart for all your love, support and prayers. It is the connection with friends and family that have carried me through this on-going, difficult journey.

Much love and big hugs,

Ivy

2025

January 2025: Some people spend their whole lives pouring into others. They show up, they fight, they love fiercely, and they never ask for anything in return. That’s Ivy.

She’s the woman who has spent decades holding space for others—whether selling her car for $1 to a woman in need, offering guardianship for a loved one in desperate times, as a teacher who refused to let the system limit the care that her special education students deserved, and as a trauma counselor who refused to give up on those that others were quick to dismiss. She spent over ten years in the counseling department at a domestic violence shelter, helping survivors rebuild their lives. And when she saw the gaps in care for those with severe trauma, she sought out everything she could to provide them with something better.

Ivy now owns a thriving counseling practice where she trains and mentors new therapists, guiding them to become the kind of counselors who don’t just listen but truly transform lives. Her reputation for working with complex trauma and dissociative identity disorder (DID) has made her a beacon of hope for clients who have struggled to find real help elsewhere. She has created a community of healing where clients and counselors alike feel seen, understood, and deeply cared for.

But now, Ivy is facing a battle of her own.

In December 2024, she was diagnosed with an aggressive and fast-growing form of breast cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma. She underwent surgery in January to remove the tumor, but her fight is far from over. Her next steps—whether chemotherapy, radiation, or alternative treatments—are still unfolding, but one thing is certain: this journey will, and has been, exhausting and expensive.

Due to being a small business owner, Ivy has no health insurance. And while she has built a practice that supports others, cancer is making it difficult for her to support herself financially. The weight of medical bills, treatment decisions, and the reality of stepping back from work is overwhelming.

And yet, if you know Ivy, you know she will never ask for help.

She’s the one who shows up, who carries others through their darkest moments. The one who never stops fighting—for her clients, her peers, her friends, and her family. Now, it’s our turn to fight for her.

Ivy is the kind of person who will fight for you with everything she has. She’s wise, she’s warm, she’s fiercely strong-willed. She’s maternal in the deepest sense—if you’re in her circle, you’re family. And once she decides to stand for you, she never backs down.

But now, it’s time for us to stand for her.

Every donation will go toward her cancer treatments, helping her afford the care she needs while easing the financial burden of stepping away from work. It will allow her to focus on healing instead of stressing over medical bills. It will give her space to breathe, to rest, to take care of herself the way she has always taken care of others.

We know our mom—she will keep pushing forward no matter what. But we don’t want her to do it alone.

If she has ever helped you, inspired you, fought for you, or if you just believe in supporting the kind of people who dedicate their lives to others—please give.

Please share. Please stand with us in this journey.

Every donation, every share, every prayer matters. Thank you for loving my mom the way she has always loved the world.

Donate now to help Ivy heal.

With tremendous appreciation,

Ivy's daughters