“Can you afford to be diagnosed with breast cancer?” for too many Canadians, the answer to that question is a definitive “no”.

The truth about breast cancer is that the financial burdens can be just as devastating as the physical ones which is why the Breast Cancer Support Fund bridges the gap between the financial reality faced by breast cancer patients and the limited financial assistance available.

Of the more than 27,000 women and 270 men diagnosed with breast cancer this year, many are financially insecure prior to being diagnosed; business-owners, single parents, students, people on social assistance, people whose employment depends on contract work in the gig economy.

The Bras Family Foundation, a foundation dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients, was an early believer in our work, and their dedicated support has truly made a difference for low-income breast cancer patients facing a financial crisis while battling breast cancer with their support of our Financial Assistance Program and Meal Support Program.

Financial assistance grants help patients pay for basic living expenses such as food and shelter as well as medications, prosthetics, wigs, transportation costs, hospital parking, restorative therapies and medical devices and the Meal Support Program delivers nutritious prepared meals to patients at no cost. (in Ontario and Atlantic Canada)

With the support of the Bras Family Foundation we help low-income breast cancer patients reduce stress during treatment so they can focus on treatment and recovery.

With a grateful heart,

Donna Sheehan

Founder, executive director, breast cancer survivor

When people talk about breast cancer, they talk about hope.

They talk about pain and suffering, treatments and medications. They talk about loss of hair and their surgeries and scars. But they don’t talk about money. People don’t talk about the cost of breast cancer. About how your benefits will run out before your cancer is gone. How breast cancer patients struggle, not to survive, but to afford to survive. People don’t talk about that. But we do.

Breast Cancer Support Fund provides the financial support needed to help breast cancer patients fight this devastating disease.

And we couldn’t do it without the generous support of the Bras Family Foundation.

With your gift to us this year we were able to help the following breast cancer patients.

Emma, aged 29 and a single mother of two young children, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was on maternity leave. The social worker who signed Emma’s application wrote us a letter on her behalf, describing Emma as a wonderful young mother who has been struggling financially as she supports herself and her two children on a very low income. Emma received $2,000 in financial assistance.

Tara, aged 42 is the mother of a 3 year old. The family has endured a number of financial hardships that has left them struggling financially for the past few years and still find it difficult to cover the costs of basic necessities. We provided $2,000 in financial assistance to Tara.

Sara was first diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 28. At that time, on her application form, part of her financial burden was because she was carrying a student loan. In fact, when she was diagnosed again three years later, she indicated she was still carrying debt from her first diagnosis. Despite being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and with hope in her heart, Sarah got married. We provided Sarah with $3,000 in financial assistance.