Supporting Ceara's Cancer Journey

Ceara Rickard is our popular, bright-haired colleague who on January 2 2020 was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. We are fundraising because a string of medical issues prior to this has left her without paid sick leave and in great need of urgent financial support for an uncertain road ahead. Ceara's cancer was discovered when she went for a routine MRI to get to the bottom of some pain that had slowly been getting worse.  A few hours later, she learned she has cancer in her spine, pelvis, ribs, liver, lymph nodes and right breast.   Metastatic breast cancer is not currently curable. Treatment begins immediately and is about reducing Ceara's pain from the cancer in her bones,  giving her quality of life and extending her life - not getting rid of the cancer completely because that's currently not possible. This means that treatment looks different to earlier stages of cancer and Ceara has a treatment plan involving hormone therapy and radiation therapy. Eventually she will need chemo but hopefully that can be avoided for a while. Ceara says "I am hoping to keep going strong for many years yet, but if you feel like scaring yourself, the 5 year survival rate statistics for metastatic breast cancer will do it."   This is huge, life changing news for Ceara. Ceara is a Psychologist who has been working at Life Without Barriers in our Tasmanian youth mental health program as a Clinician. Her absence will be hugely impactful for the service and sector as a whole, as it is very difficult to find people suited to this work. Ceara has always been a popular and effective Clinician, having made a big difference to the lives of her many clients in Tasmania.  She is on a leave of absence from work for the time being and no doubt having a stage 4 cancer will have huge implications for her life and career. There are tough times ahead. These of course include all the emotional implications, the pain (excruciating) and all the treatments to come - but also the looming threat of poverty. Australia offers very few protections to people who develop life threatening illness. Ceara has no paid sick leave left, and very little income protection insurance (in Ceara's words, "because insurers routinely discriminate against people for the largely inheritable crime of being fat") and Centrelink pay well below the poverty line.  Ceara's husband James is a full-time student whose family live overseas, and Ceara comes from an incredibly loving-but not incredibly wealthy-family who live interstate.  Local friends will be doing their best to help with day to day assistance like meals, but we are relying on our networks to help raise the kind of dollars that none of us can manage alone.  Fundraising will help Ceara and James by easing their financial stress and helping them cover a variety of costs including but not limited to:  - Household expenses like groceries and bills;  - Mortgage payments;  - Out of pocket medical expenses;  - Transport including car costs, hospital parking, taxis, etc.  - Lost wages and superannuation;  - Insurance;  - Travel for interstate relatives to visit and give support;  - Pet expenses; and  - Living a normal life, getting out to the movies or to dinner.