Join Team Kristina ??

Well? this is not exactly the chapter of life I thought I?d be writing at 32.

A few months ago, cancer wasn?t even on my radar. I was busy doing the things I love, working with people and animals, spending time with my boyfriend and our dogs, reading, practicing yoga, hiking, traveling, and finding any excuse to get in the water and scuba dive. ??????

Then, unexpectedly, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

For the next five months, I?ll be continuing chemotherapy before surgery, with the possibility of additional treatment afterward. There are still a lot of unknowns, physically, emotionally, and financially, and I?m learning to take things one day at a time.

Before cancer turned my world upside down, I worked as a veterinary social worker and program manager at the Humane Society. I?ve spent my career caring for people, advocating for others, and helping make difficult moments a little easier. Finding myself in the position of needing support has been one of the harder parts of this experience.

I created this design and fundraiser simply to give the people who care about me a way to walk alongside me through it. I also created a GoFundMe (https://gofund.me/f5a378d6e) that you can access here. Treatment comes with expenses and challenges I never anticipated, and any support will give me a little more room to focus on healing rather than worrying about everything else.

And there is absolutely no expectation to buy or give. Sharing this page, checking in, sending encouragement, making me laugh, or simply keeping me in your thoughts means just as much. ??

I don?t know exactly what the next year will look like, but I know I don?t have to face it alone.

I?m looking forward to the day when this is a chapter I can look back on rather than the chapter I?m living through.

Until then, I?m taking it one day at a time.

Welcome to Team Kristina. ??