Narda beats breast cancer
When Narda learned she had stage IV breast cancer, she refused to give up hope. One year later, she’s beaten the odds.
A year ago, Narda received news that would change the course of her life. The breast cancer she overcame in 2011 had returned — but this time, stronger and more threatening. The CAT scan results revealed that the cancer had spread to her liver, and she was told that 50% of patients in her situation did not live beyond two years. The situation quickly worsened. Shortly after her diagnosis, Narda’s liver began to fail, and doctors informed her that she had only weeks to live.
Narda, her husband Brian, and their two young daughters were living their worst nightmare. But then, a miracle happened.
The diagnosis
Narda’s familiarity with cancer started at a young age; at only seven years old, she lost her mother to the disease. Then in 2011, Narda herself was diagnosed with breast cancer and learned that like her mother, she also carried BRCA2, a gene linked to the disease.
After undergoing grueling rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, Narda beat the disease in 2011. But six years later during a routine CAT scan, Narda again found herself in harm’s way. She received the devastating news that a tumour was discovered in her liver, the cancer had returned, and it had accelerated aggressively.
This time, Narda was fighting stage IV breast cancer that had metastasized to her liver. Doctors said her condition was likely incurable.
Stronger together
Narda wasn’t willing to settle for her bleak prognosis. Determined to live long enough to see her daughters through their teen years, Narda chose to explore treatment options outside of Canada.
After consulting with a Canadian oncologist, she and her husband Brian found a regional chemotherapy treatment center in Germany that could dramatically increase Narda’s life expectancy. Regional chemotherapy allows doctors to target individual tumours by pumping anti-cancer drugs through the arteries, rather than spreading the drugs throughout the entire body.
Unfortunately, Narda’s insurance wouldn’t cover the costly procedure. Facing medical expenses upwards of $150,000, Brain and Narda turned to GoFundMe and asked their community to help them raise the funds needed for Narda to have a fighting chance against the disease.
With the help of loved ones, their community, and the kindness of strangers, Narda and Brian raised over $150,000 on their GoFundMe. Narda was able to start her regional chemotherapy treatments in Germany quickly and saw almost immediate results. After several rounds of chemotherapy in the month of September 2017, the tumour shrunk significantly, and she came back to 95% health.
Struggling to put her feelings into words, Narda shared that the feeling of overcoming her cancer was like a true rebirth: “It’s really a miracle.”
What Narda faced is a tragic reality for too many women and men. In Canada alone, nearly one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, and breast cancer accounts for approximately 26% of new cases of cancer and 13% of all cancer deaths in Canadian women. These numbers are similarly echoed across the globe.
Building a community
After surviving a harrowing battle with breast cancer, Narda has realized the strength and power of a community and the change it can make. Narda and Brian have chosen to share her fight in the hopes of impacting, inspiring, and educating others.
Their goal is to encourage women to get tested for the BRCA gene so that they can take action and prevent cancer. Had Narda known even 10 years ago that she was a carrier of the gene, she could have opted in for surgery — either a bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy or a total mastectomy — that would significantly reduce her chances of having cancer from from 85% to less than 3%. It would’ve changed everything. Now, they hope to share that knowledge with others.
Seeing the overwhelming support pour into their GoFundMe reminds Brian of the importance of community. “When we come together we can make huge differences,” he says.
Brian and Narda have also focused their efforts on paying it forward to families facing a similar diagnosis who are exploring the same treatment in Germany. They were introduced to Barb Bulger, who was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. Barb, too, turned to her community for support on GoFundMe and raised the $170,000 needed to cover her extensive medical expenses.
Without the unwavering support of her family, loved ones, and community, Narda wouldn’t be here today. That support went beyond the funds raised to pay for the treatment — it was also the comments, messages, and prayers on her GoFundMe that kept her feeling hopeful. In Narda’s words, “Thank you so much to each and every person. You are a part of me being here.”
Brian summed up their experience in an update on her GoFundMe: “I think we can learn so many things from this, as a community, as people, as humans. When we come together and we do things, and we all feel these things, and help people, we can make huge differences… let’s keep helping other people and working with each other.”
Special thanks to Narda, Brian, and their daughters, Olivia and Annabella.
