Women We’ve Helped – Carol

Grant Recipient: Carol

The grants came just in time to help me over the roughest part, and I sincerely don’t know if I would have made it through without them

Diagnosis: Stage I Breast Cancer

Treatment: Chemotherapy, Surgery, Radiation

Grant used for: Insurance, transportation, groceries

“I still have all my normal bills”

At age 62, Carol should have been planning her retirement. Cancer had other plans. In June of 2018, the fulltime housekeeper was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. Surgery was followed by chemotherapy and then radiation therapy.

The treatment left Carol too weak to continue her physically challenging job. She went on temporary leave, but the disability payments she received were far less than her salary.

“I still have all my normal bills,” Carol wrote to us in her grant application, “and treatment of my cancer has added on new monthly medical expenses at a time when my monthly income has been greatly reduced.”

Staying Positive

Carol’s story is a great reminder that the everyday costs of life, like rent payment, car insurance, and grocery costs, keep coming even when you have cancer. Through this difficult process, Carol tried to stay positive. “I challenge my body, weakened by cancer treatments, to repair itself so I can return to work with strength and vitality,” she wrote to us.

Receiving a Grant at Just the Right Time

At Shades of Pink Foundation California, we appreciated Carol’s positive attitude and belief in herself. Thanks to the support of our donors, we were able to offer her a grant to cover a variety of costs, including insurance, transportation to her medical appointment, and groceries.

Carol Is a Survivor

At the beginning of the year, we received wonderful news from Carol. “I am proud to say I am now a survivor, and I have returned to work just this week!” she wrote in a thank-you note to our organization.

In her note she also wrote, “the aid your association gave me boosted my morale, just knowing someone cared so much!”

We want to share Carol’s thanks with all our donors who care enough to support our foundation and all the women like Carol fighting to recover from breast cancer.