Women We’ve Helped- Tracy

by | Feb 20, 2018 | Women We've Helped

 Grant Recipient: Tracy

Grant Recipient: Tracy

I am applying for this grant to keep a roof over my head.

Diagnosis: Stage II Breast Cancer B

Treatment: Chemotherapy, Radiation, Surgery, Hormonal Therapy, and Herceptin infusions

Grant used for: Rent and auto payment

A U.S. Navy Veteran Finds a Lump in Her Breast

Tracy is a U.S. Navy veteran who was making ends meet by providing digital and video marketing to small businesses. In her spare time, she made extra money by driving for Uber and Lyft. It wasn’t a cushy life, but she was making it work. Then she found a lump in her breast, and everything changed.

A Whirlwind of Appointments and Treatment

As if receiving a diagnosis of Stage II breast cancer wasn’t bad enough, Tracy also found out that she had type II diabetes. Suddenly, she found herself taking new medications every day with uncomfortable side effects and scheduling endless tests.

This eventually led to six chemotherapy sessions in combination with Herceptin infusions. Next up is radiation treatment and then hormonal therapy for the next five years. “It is a battle that I surely never expected to fight, but I am doing it,” Tracy writes in her grant application. These aggressive treatments are helping to beat Tracy’s cancer, but they’re also beating up her body.

Losing Income

The exhaustion, nausea, and weakness caused by the cancer treatments has made it impossible for Tracy to maintain the energy and focus needed to be an entrepreneur and freelancer. As her medical bills have gone up, her income has dwindled. Now she must rely on financial assistance from her friends and her adult children to pay her bills. Her son, a truck driver, does his best to help by covering a few of her bills each month on his credit card.

Tracy is currently applying for short-term disability insurance. She wrote to us requesting a grant that could serve as “a necessary bridge to get me through this period of no income so that I can continue focusing on getting well and being able to start earning income again.”

Tracy Gets a Grant

At Shades of Pink Foundation California, we appreciate Tracy’s entrepreneurial spirit. With the help of our donors, we were able to provide her with a grant to help cover her rent as she waits for disability payments.