I run for more reasons than I can share, so today, I will share one. So, JAF can continue to have handouts (and services) for patients living with cancer and their families. We all know the power of learning. If people living right in our community do not know about the cost of cancer, we need to continue educating because none of us are untouchable from financial toxicity.

Financial toxicity has been affecting patients and families for tens of years. Still, it is only in recent years that studies have come out sharing important data, and community members have begun sharing their voices in hopes of normalizing and removing the stigma that asking for help doesn’t mean someone is less than another.

Yes, today, I live a life with many blessings, but there was a time when I was a single mother (at 18 years old), not knowing where to turn. What I call an angel handed me a WIC handout in 1997, a government program that helps mothers and infants with nutrition. No, this was not the dream I had for myself. It was my reality and one I accepted, and today wouldn’t change for anything in the world.

So, yes, a handout can change life outcomes. It can be the gateway to available services that we otherwise wouldn’t know about—ones that can change our futures. WIC provided what I couldn’t to my son, and not for not trying.

Please help JAF continue to share handouts and offer services that change life outcomes for patients living with cancer and their families.