LAKELAND, Fla. — A nonprofit in Lakeland is seeing an influx of breast cancer patients needing help.
“I was only 36 years old. It wasn’t something that I had in my life plan,” said Ashley Page.
Thanksgiving week of 2020, Ashley Page learned she had stage 3 breast cancer.
“I had a tumor inside my right breast. It was a lump that was small. It almost doubled in size within three to four weeks,” Page said.
Page endured eight weeks of radiation and underwent surgery. She said the Breast Cancer Foundation of Central Florida was her saving grace during her treatment.
The Lakeland-based non-profit provides breast cancer patients with assistance for non-medical expenses including mortgage, rent, and car insurance.
“You have so many other things you’re worried about. You already have so much unforeseen, or you don’t know your future. So, to know that you, or your spouse, or your children and everything you are already worried about, you’re able to focus on getting better,” Page said.
The foundation also provides $200 stipends to each child in the household. “We have a children’s fund that helps with things like after-school activities or orthodontist assistance or just clothing,” said Leah Grieger, Founder of The Breast Cancer Foundation of Central Florida.
BCFCF serves 15 counties including Polk, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, and Pasco. Their clients have nearly doubled during the pandemic.
Grieger said the pandemic has made raising money challenging and they are in need of more donors.
“We don’t want to turn down any patient, we want to help everyone,” said Grieger.
You can make a donation online.
