At the start of 2022, the future was looking bright for Valerie Garcia and her husband Kieran Black.
The couple were renovating their Cape Woolamai home and baby number two was on the way.
Their world was shattered when, at 35 weeks pregnant, Valerie was diagnosed with Stage 3, Triple Negative breast cancer.
The baby needed to be induced early so Valerie could start chemotherapy.
The months since then have been a blur of juggling treatments and side-effects, alongside the demands of caring for a newborn baby and a toddler.
The impact on the family’s emotional and financial state has been immense.
With Valerie unable to work and the family income halved, Kieran has had to take extended leave from his job to care for Valerie and the children.
This month, Valerie’s friend Leanne Munchan set up a GoFundMe campaign to try and help the young family.
As well as trying to cover all the regular bills and medical expenses, Valerie is looking at alternative therapies and supplements, to try and complement the chemotherapy and radiology she is undergoing.
As Triple Negative Breast Cancer is rare and aggressive and unable to be treated with the standard regime of breast cancer drugs, conventional treatment options are limited and the couple want to explore every possible option to give Valerie the best chance of survival.
Kieran said the situation was desperate, and the alternative therapies they were looking at were not covered by Medicare, with the costs running into the thousands.
“We really need community support and the response so far has been amazing.
“So many friends have told us they don’t know what to do to help, and the fund is a way for people to be able to help and show they care.
“I have been really impressed by the generosity of people.”
He said throughout her treatment, Valerie, who is a remedial massage therapist and personal trainer, had focused on healthy eating and supplements.
“But buying organic vegetables is three times more expensive.”
He said each week they were making choice about buying organic food or supplements to help Valerie, or buying plaster to finish the renovation of the children’s room and the kitchen, to make it safe and liveable.
He said normally the family was extremely private, but he would shamelessly promote the GoFundMe campaign to help his wife.
Prior to her diagnosis, Valerie ran a successful business from her home and Kieran said the loss of the business was not just a financial impact.
“She had built a career and a business and was financially independent. She feels guilty that she can’t work,” Kieran said.
“The last thing she needs is that kind of stress with money.”
He said on top of coping with regular bills, medical costs and constant appointments, their life had changed irrevocably.
“We thought everything was going great. Valerie’s business had really taken off, she’d employed someone as well.
“Now, we don’t know if she will ever be able to work again. The business model as it was pre-cancer can’t exist anymore.”
With further surgery and then a daily regime of radiotherapy scheduled for this month, any money raised through the campaign will help cover household bills and living expenses and keep the family afloat.
“The funds will also allow us to buy organics and supplements to try and help with her recovery.
“And maybe we can finish off the kids’ bedroom.”
He also said he hoped sharing their story will remind other women of the importance to get checked if they have any concerns about their health.
“Valerie is so healthy, she is a personal trainer, doesn’t smoke or drink and had such a healthy lifestyle.
“You’d think she’d be the last person in the world to get cancer.”
To support Valerie and Kieran and their family, to go gofund.me/256ee3d9
Or visit gofundme.com and search for “two babies and fighting stage 3 breast cancer”.