My name is Kym, and I’m a 27-year-old single mom to three beautiful boys who are my entire world. They are my reason for getting up, my reason for fighting, and the biggest reason I keep holding on, even on the days when I feel like I have nothing left to give. In April 2025, while I was in my third trimester of pregnancy, my life changed forever. I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. I was supposed to be preparing to welcome my baby into the world, thinking about the future and enjoying what should have been one of the happiest times of my life. Instead, I was suddenly faced with a cancer diagnosis that had already spread to my liver. I delivered my baby five weeks early so I could begin treatment. There are no words to describe what it feels like to be preparing for motherhood while also being forced to think about your own mortality. I was trying to welcome a new life into this world while facing a future I never imagined for myself. I had to find the strength to fight a battle I never asked for while knowing that three little boys needed their mama. Since then, my life has been filled with chemotherapy, infusions, doctor appointments, scans, medications, waiting rooms, and so much uncertainty. I have endured difficult treatments and held on to hope through every setback. For a time, my cancer was stable, and I allowed myself to believe that maybe we had found a treatment that was working. Then things changed. My cancer progressed, and I had to face another change in treatment. I am now undergoing treatment with Enhertu, traveling to New Orleans for care and waiting to see how my body responds. Every treatment cycle comes with its own challenges, and every scan brings a kind of anxiety that is difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced it. You learn to live between appointments and test results. You try to stay hopeful while preparing yourself for news you never want to hear. You smile for your children even when your mind is racing with questions you cannot answer. And somehow, life still expects you to keep going. Cancer doesn’t pause the rent. It doesn’t stop the bills from coming. It doesn’t make groceries cheaper, put gas in the car, or make sure there is money available when something breaks. The everyday responsibilities of raising three children continue, even when your body is exhausted from treatment and your heart is carrying more fear than you know what to do with. That is the part people don’t always see. I am a single mother trying to raise my boys while fighting a life-threatening illness. I live on a limited income, and trying to make everything stretch far enough has become increasingly difficult. Transportation to medical appointments, gas, car expenses, monthly bills, groceries, and the everyday necessities my children need all add up. When money is already stretched thin, even one unexpected expense can feel impossible to overcome. There are days when I am physically exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed. Since returning to treatment, even things that used to be part of my normal routine can feel like mountains to climb. I want to be the mom who wakes up early, makes breakfast, gets everyone ready, keeps the house going, and makes life feel normal for her children. I want to have the energy to do all the little things without feeling like I have to fight my own body just to get through the day. But sometimes, I simply cannot do it all. And that is a hard truth to admit. My oldest boy is growing up right before my eyes, and my younger boys are still so little. I think about all the moments I want to be here for: school mornings, baseball games, birthdays, holidays, bedtime cuddles, silly conversations, and the ordinary days that I know are actually the most precious ones. I want my boys to have happy childhoods. I want them to feel safe, loved, and cared for. I want cancer to take up as little space in their lives as possible, even though it has changed nearly every part of mine. I cannot promise them that this journey will be easy. I cannot promise that I will never have another setback. But I can promise that I will keep fighting with everything I have and keep loving them through every single step. 🎄 Christmas Is Coming, and My Heart Feels Heavy With Christmas right around the corner, I have another worry weighing on my heart. Christmas has always been about making memories, seeing the excitement in my boys’ eyes, and making sure they feel the magic of being little. As their mama, I want nothing more than to give them that feeling again this year. But the truth is, it’s hard trying to think about Christmas when I’m also trying to keep up with everyday bills, afford gas and transportation to cancer treatments, and make sure we have everything we need at home. While other families are preparing for the holidays, I’m trying to figure out how to balance the extra expenses while living with stage IV cancer and navigating treatment. I never imagined being 27 years old, fighting for my life, and worrying about how I would make Christmas happen for my three boys. I wish I could take away every worry and give them a holiday without any of the stress that comes with our circumstances. They are still so little, and they deserve to wake up Christmas morning feeling loved, excited, and surrounded by the magic of the season. I’m not looking for a perfect Christmas or anything extravagant. I just want to make memories with my boys, see them smile, and give them a little bit of normalcy in a life that has been turned upside down by cancer. I want to see their excitement over the little things. I want to watch them open their gifts, enjoy our traditions, and make memories we can look back on with happiness. I want them to remember the love, not the hardship. Asking for help around the holidays is especially hard because I know so many families are struggling. But I’m learning that it’s okay to admit when we need a little extra support, too. ❤️ Why I Created This Give InKind Page I created this page because our family needs a village, and I cannot do everything alone right now. Asking for help is incredibly difficult for me. I am used to trying to figure things out, stretching what little I have, and finding a way to make things work. I never imagined being 27 years old, raising three boys, and trying to navigate the financial realities of stage IV cancer treatment. I wish I could say that love and determination are enough to make every problem disappear. They aren’t. I can be strong, determined, and hopeful and still need help paying for gas. I can be a good mother and still need assistance with monthly bills. I can fight for my life and still struggle to afford the everyday things my children need. I am not asking anyone to fix everything or take away this diagnosis. I am simply asking for a little kindness and support during a time when life feels heavier than I can sometimes carry alone. Here Are the Ways You Can Help Our Family 🚗 Transportation, gas, and car expenses Getting to treatment and medical appointments requires reliable transportation. Gas, tires, maintenance, and unexpected car expenses are difficult to manage on a limited income. Help in this area would make it easier to get where I need to go without the added fear of how I will afford the trip. 🏠 Help with monthly bills Assistance with everyday household expenses would ease some of the constant financial pressure. The bills don’t stop because I’m sick, and every little bit of help would make a difference in keeping our household running while I focus on treatment and caring for my boys. 🛒 Gift cards for everyday necessities Grocery, gas, and general-purpose gift cards would help cover essentials and give me flexibility to purchase whatever our family needs most at the time. Sometimes, being able to fill the gas tank, buy groceries, or pick up household necessities can make an enormous difference. 🎁 Christmas gifts and holiday necessities With Christmas approaching, help with gifts for my boys, groceries, or other holiday necessities would mean more than I can put into words. I want to give my children a little joy and normalcy this Christmas, even while navigating the uncertainty of cancer treatment and the financial challenges that come with it. If you are unable to provide financial or practical help, sharing our page or sending a kind message would still mean so much to me. Please never feel that you have to give more than you can afford. Every act of kindness matters. My Boys Are My Why I don’t know exactly what the road ahead holds. I wish I could say I wasn’t scared, but the truth is that I am. I am scared of what my next scans might show. I am scared of treatment not working. I am scared of the uncertainty that comes with stage IV cancer, and I am scared of missing moments with the three little people who need me most. But I am also hopeful. I am still here. I am still fighting. I am still making plans, loving my boys, and holding on to the possibility of more time and more memories. I want more birthdays. More hugs. More baseball games. More school mornings. More pictures, more laughter, more messy days, and more chances to watch my boys grow up. I want the chance to keep being their mama for as long as possible. This Christmas, more than ever, I am reminded that the greatest gift isn’t what is under the tree. It’s time together, love, and the chance to keep making memories with the people who mean everything to us. If you have read this far, thank you. Thank you for seeing the person behind the diagnosis, for caring about my boys, and for taking a moment to understand what our family is facing. Your kindness could mean less stress over gas, a little breathing room with a bill, groceries in our kitchen, help making Christmas special for my children, or simply one less thing for me to worry about during an already difficult time. I may not be able to repay every kindness, but I will never take it for granted. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping me keep going, for helping my boys, and for reminding us that even in the hardest seasons of life, we don’t have to face everything alone. With love, gratitude, and hope, Kym and my three boys 💗 One day at a time. One treatment at a time. One reason to keep fighting: my boys. 🎗️
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