We’ve lived in South Jordan for 8 years. I’ve been married to my sweetheart Mike for 19 years and we have 3 children. In November 2005 I was 37 years old. I was very healthy running marathons, and enjoying being a Mom.

Around Thanksgiving I found out I had an aggressive and rare form of breast cancer. Life as we knew it came to a screeching halt. I had to quit my employment and focus on returning to health. I was stunned when I learned what our future would hold. I had 18 months of chemotherapy, 6 weeks of radiation and 10 surgeries. I went from feeling alive and vibrant to needing assistance just to perform normal tasks like bathing, driving, and cleaning the house. It was the most difficult period of our lives. At times I wondered how I would ever survive but with the help of my Heavenly Father, family and friends we made it through feeling blessed and grateful for the gift of my restored health.

Even though we are well physically, financially it’s taken its toll. We have insurance but still have huge bills that need to be paid. We have fought to keep our heads above water and desperately want to stay in our home. The #1 cause of bankruptcy in this country is from medical bills, (see consumeraffairs.com) and we are doing everything in our power not to let that happen. Just to give you an idea of some of the costs; each chemo treatment was approximately $30,000. I had chemo, 23 times. Medical costs have totaled well over a million dollars. Unfortunately, I continue to need very expensive testing and my prescriptions each month are very expensive.

My husband works full-time at Lifetime Fitness and I’ve been working three jobs. Through one of my work experiences, I met Narelle. She got talking to my co-workers and they started discussing my cancer and explained the situation. About 10 minutes later Narelle came back to speak with me. She said John Canaan a popular performing artist here in Utah had offered to do a benefit concert for me, at no expense to him. He would just sell his CD’s. I was completely overwhelmed by their generosity. John’s music is inspirational. He has an amazing voice and puts on beautiful concerts. He has numerous albums and his Christmas CD is one of his most popular. You can view his website at www.johncanaan.com

The Christmas concert will be on Thursday December 11th at Bingham High School starting at 7pm. Tickets will be available on-line or at the door. They will all be general admission. Tickets will cost $10 each. Proceeds will go to paying off my medical bills and 10% will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.