Standing with Eden Through Cancer Treatment

Less than two years after losing her home and nearly her life in Hurricane Helene, and still without a permanent home, Deborah Eden Tull has recently received a life-changing diagnosis and deeply needs our help.

As many of you know, Eden is a beloved Zen Buddhist teacher and mentor, author, and founder of Mindful Living Revolution. Her work has touched thousands. Eden is a spirit sister to me — and to many others.

After 2.5 months of medical testing and waiting on lab results, Eden has been diagnosed with a form of bone marrow cancer that requires immediate treatment and a bone marrow transplant — the only known cure. She is meeting this moment with a clear heart, a clear mind, love, and freedom from fear. She is grateful to catch this diagnosis before it became leukemia or would have been too late.

Eden and her husband Mark have been without a stable home since the hurricane in 2024 and - just as they started to settle - have packed up unexpectedly once again to move to the Pacific Northwest to access specialized treatment.

I've been close to Eden since college. As juniors, we traveled the world together for a year, studying ecology and social issues through the Bard International Honors Program. Eden gave me my first book on Zen Buddhism. We shared time as artists at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. A few years later, we shared over seven years as monastics at the Zen Monastery Peace Center and have led several retreats together since.

We're hoping to raise $65,000 to help Eden relocate and begin treatment quickly. Your support will help with moving expenses, temporary housing for 6 months to a year, living expenses (Eden will not be able to work), medical treatment, and complementary/holistic health support. Even with health insurance, this process carries heavy costs, and many aspects of the process are not covered by insurance.

The transplant itself will take a few months to arrange, as we find the right donor, run more tests, and prepare, and will require a very intensive (3 months minimum) recovery period with a full time caregiver. In the meantime, Eden's immune system is compromised.

In Eden's words:

This has been destabilizing news to receive while we're still recovering from Hurricane Helene. This diagnosis is often linked to exposure to toxic chemicals, which brings its own sadness — about how present these chemicals are in our world, and how many forms of life - human and more than human - they affect.

While this news is tender, it also explains health challenges I've been navigating — ones that were maddeningly hard to get clear answers about from our medical system in recent years, especially while being nomadic after Helene. I feel grateful to catch this before it's too late. It also feels difficult to receive this news without a home, a nest. I have a strong spiritual practice and trust my capacity for healing, but I need a settled home and support to pause from work to give myself wholeheartedly to this process.

I'm deeply grateful to anyone who shares this GoFundMe — We feel completely financially overwhelmed by this. Please hold this diagnosis in wholeness and support my healing process. The attitude I want to be held in is, "You've got this Eden... How can we support you?"

A few loving requests, also in Eden's words:

It's natural to want to help when someone you love is facing illness — but fear-driven help isn't always helpful help. Please send care, prayers, and blessings rather than worry. I am not standing in fear.

I'm entering a period of focusing fully on healing — minimizing stress, protecting peace. If you need to reach me, please email, and my assistant will help field it.

My life is devoted to awakening and supporting collective awakening. I will share the insights and practices that support me through this time with you, as truly, we are all in this together.

Friends, thank you for your support during this time. Countless lives have been touched by Eden’s teachings and generosity of spirit. May we support her now as she navigates this unexpected chapter of healing. These are big times for us all. By supporting Eden, you are not only supporting someone dedicated to helping others; you are also contributing to a field of reciprocal care we need to cultivate collectively, in an age of increasing need.

If you're able, a gift toward our $65,000 goal would mean so much. In full transparency, there may be more expenses in the future, but this will cover our initial costs. Please consider sharing this page with others!

For those who wish to learn more, here is a 20 minute video of Eden speaking about her diagnosis and this time of need.

In Peace,

Caverly