Meet Marie

January 5, 2016, my life was turned up side down. I still relive the moment I heard “it’s cancer” over and over in my head. Here I was, just graduated with my master’s, had accepted a position, and was getting ready to start a family; I immediately felt like everything I had worked so hard for was being taken from me. One of the first thoughts I had after getting the dreadful news was, “there goes my chance at having a family”.

Being in the medical field, I knew exactly what chemo was going to do to my reproductive organs and that fertility preservation was necessary, I also knew it was expensive and not covered by my insurance. I felt such guilt even considering the option because the medical bills were about to start piling up, student loans were due, and I wasn’t certain when I would be able to work; “how could I put such a financial burden on my husband”, I thought to myself.

There was very little time to make a decision before treatment would start, so we decided to make a consultation appointment to see if we could possibly afford such a service and the nurse immediately handed me a Team Maggie application. For the first time since my diagnosis, I felt hopeful and when I was awarded the grant, I felt a sense of control and that cancer wasn’t going to deprive me of my hopes and dreams. Without Team Maggie, I wouldn’t have had the courage to complete the process; this organization has also given me the strength and motivation to overcome all of cancer’s obstacles.