In August of 2024, I was diagnosed with stage 3c rectal cancer in Phoenix Arizona, a shock I’m still grappling with. With little support in Arizona, I made the decision to move to Idaho to be with the man I was dating when I got my diagnosis, hoping he would be my rock through this journey. But unfortunately, cancer was more than either of us could handle, and that relationship didn’t work out. Now, I’m facing cancer completely alone. 

As many of you know, I have no real family, I lost my mother to suicide in 2017 and my father to dementia at the beginning of 2024. Shortly after I lost my father, a flood in my Phoenix apartment devastated my life, leaving me without much of my belongings. My renters insurance did not cover any of the damages and I blew through what little savings I had trying to fight their denial with a lawyer. What little belongings I had that survived my apartment flood now sit in a barn somewhere in southeast Idaho.

What I have left is what I could fit into my car, and right now, I’m essentially homeless, navigating insurance coverage in South Texas where I have found a couch to surf on for the next few months until I can figure out a more stable living arrangement to get me through my cancer treatments. 

I’ve been unable to work for nearly a year, and with chemotherapy and radiation treatments beginning on July 9th 2025, it’s going to be a full-time job for the next year. This will be an incredibly difficult time, and I’m reaching out to let you know that I need your prayers, not just for me, but for my brother Isaac as well. Isaac and I have been through so much together—losing our mother to suicide, our father to dementia—and I can’t imagine what it will be like for him to lose his only surviving immediate family member in such a short time. Please keep Isaac and his son Ryder in your thoughts, too.

I launched my website www.cancerisagift.org and a GoFundMe campaign but after two months, GoFundMe removed my fundraiser without cause and I have reached out via every available channel and cannot get a hold of a human being to put in an appeal for my fundraiser to be reinstated. GoFundMe refunded all my recent donations and I had many monthly donors that all dried up. I have no way of accessing my fundraiser or seeing any of my donors to reach back out to them to let them know I’ve had to shift platforms because GoFundMe thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to take my money (I paid for a monthly subscription) and offer no viable customer service route. 

If you feel compelled to support me, either through prayers, a one time or monthly donation, purchasing something off my cancer registry, or by sharing the campaign on social media and with news organizations, I would be incredibly grateful.

The new campaign goal is $55,000 to cover treatment costs, living expenses, and rebuilding my life during this incredibly difficult period. While this amount is far from enough to cover everything I’m facing, I know it’s a step in the right direction.

Thank you so much for your continued support and kindness. Your thoughts and prayers mean the world to me during this time.

With deep gratitude,

Rachel