My work colleague, Wendy Cano, has been diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer and begins her aggressive treatment on October 17th.   This will entail chemo every two weeks for four months, followed by the next steps, which will likely include surgery.     

At 39 years old, this is a surprising and daunting diagnosis.  Wendy has two sons and a husband, a fulfilling career, a host of family activities and obligations, and all the many pushes and pulls that accompany a full life in today’s world.   This will now change – at least for a while.

Facing a medical journey such as this causes one to ask a lot of questions.   What’s urgent?  What is the best treatment plan?   How do I know who to trust?  How much will this cost?  How do I tell everyone?   How am I going to feel?   Will I lose my hair?  Will I be able to work?    Those and untold more questions arise daily, in the middle of the night or when least expected, and will continue throughout the journey.   They all add to the stress of this situation.

Wendy’s boys, Damien at 14 and Gabriel at 10, will be a source of comfort and inspiration for her, as will her niece, Natalie at 10 and her nephew Jack at 9, who spend a lot of after school time with the Cano’s.  Four kids and all of their activities means busy afternoons and evenings  that include schoolwork to maintain those honors classes for Damian, band practice for both Damian and Gabriel (drums, piano, hand bells), soccer practice for Gabriel and Jack, and Girl Scouts and cross-country training for Natalie.  

Her husband, Cesar, will be a source of emotional and financial support, as well as very involved in the above activities.   He is newly employed as a 6th grade teacher, finally easing some of the financial stress they faced as a one-income family for a number of years while he retrained for his teaching career.

What we can do as friends, family and colleagues is help her answer a few of the pressing questions, such as:  How will I ever be able to afford the treatment, even with insurance?    What happens when I don’t have any sick time left and have to take days off without pay?    How are we going to manage with only one car, as we get one fixed and the other one breaks down again?   We can help through donations to her GoFundMe campaign to create a new financial resource upon which she can draw for these unplanned expenses.   We can help build this cushion of support, while the medical community provides the treatment and care needed to see Wendy achieve a cancer-free diagnosis.

Thank you in advance for your help.   We will keep you updated over the coming months.

Cheers,

Barbara and all her colleagues at the Thunderbird School of Global Management