The Money Side of Cancer Nobody Talks About

The Bible says money answers everything. When it comes to cancer, that is one of the truest things I have ever lived through.

Today I want to talk about something most people going through cancer never say out loud: the financial reality. The debt, the swiped credit cards, the pride that keeps you from asking, and the way money, or the lack of it, can quietly affect your healing.

THE FIRST DIAGNOSIS: A GOFUNDME AND GRATITUDE

When I was first diagnosed in November 2021, I was unemployed. We set up a GoFundMe, and people gave. I was grateful for every single person who contributed, that money helped me pay for my naturopathic treatment.

But someone messaged me asking why I was asking for money while still sending my kids to daycare. I had to explain: stress increases cancer cell growth. Keeping my boys in daycare meant I could focus on healing. There are times in life when you have to do you. That was one of those times.

THE SECOND DIAGNOSIS: DOING IT DIFFERENTLY

When cancer came back, my husband suggested another GoFundMe. I said no.

I was not in a place where I could handle the questions, the comments, or the judgment. The Bible says guard your heart, and I had to guard mine. The stress alone could have made things worse.

THE DEBT, THE CRYPTOCURRENCY, AND THE HARD TRUTH

I believe one of the reasons the cancer came back is stress. In August 2024, when I sat down and looked at our finances, the stress was significant. We were in a lot of debt. I tried to get a loan from my financial institution, I even offered to put up our house as collateral. They said we were too far in debt to qualify.

In desperation, I tried a cryptocurrency investment. It turned out to be a scam. I lost $3,000 Canadian dollars.

While praying one morning, I felt clearly that I needed to tell my husband. I said I couldn't. The response came back: you have to.

So I told him. And my husband said: "It's okay."

HOW WE GOT THROUGH IT

A friend told me about a HELOC, a Home Equity Line of Credit. We were able to pay off our debts, and I had enough left over to pay for my naturopathic treatments and invest in starting this podcast. I did not have to ask anyone for a single dollar.

THE REAL COST OF EATING TO HEAL

Here is something else nobody tells you: eating to fight cancer is expensive.

I had to eat organic food. Organic food doesn't last the way processed food does, which meant I was at the supermarket every single week, $100, $150, sometimes more, swiped on a credit card because we could not always afford it outright. We had four credit cards. We were living off them. All of it to buy the fruits, the vegetables, the organic produce my body needed to fight.

WHAT I'M ASKING OF YOU

If you know someone going through cancer, help them.

You do not have to send $500. Send what you can. A $20, a $50, a $100. Offer to buy their groceries. Cover a manicure, something that makes them feel human and cared for. Because when you are fighting for your life, the small things matter more than you know.

Some of us will never ask. That is the reality of cancer that nobody puts on the flyer. So if someone in your life is going through it, reach out. You do not need to wait to be asked. Just help.

Because we need it. Even when we don't say so.

Walk good, until next time.

Opal McKnight-Kleinsasser