Cancer, Copays and the Cost of Staying Alive

Her fight to survive has also turned into advocacy and a desire to support others facing the same disease.

being around my daughter, being around my granddaughter, being around my friends, being around other people that are fighting this disease and sharing my story with them and encouraging them and giving them a little bit of peace of hope and, you know, letting them know that, yeah, it may not feel good right now, but better days do come.

For Garrida, that support is more than words.

You know, I go sit with people who don't have family members to go sit with them when they're going through their chemo treatments.

I had a group of people that would go sit with me and be with me and encourage me, fix me soups and all type of things.

So the same love that I received while I was going through my treatment is the same love that I want to give out to other people that are currently going through the same thing.

Part of her advocacy means speaking out about the financial burden cancer patients can face.

And my goal is to continue shedding light on medical debt, how people are refusing treatments simply because of the debt that it leads them in.

And no one should have to choose between life and death.

Not life and death, but life and debt.

She herself has faced medical debt over the last eight years and still faces it.

So what advice would she give to someone facing cancer?

Save your life.

The debt would be there, but go through the treatments.

I know it's very difficult when you're trying to pay your bills and you're thinking about how much money you're going to have to pay, you know, once you finish all these treatments.

But your life, your family, it's more important.

It's advice Garyna herself followed, and she's grateful she did.

I know a lot of people don't want to file for bankruptcy or anything like that, especially due to medical bills.

But I'm glad that I did not refuse the treatment because it worked.

I'm glad that I did not walk in fear because of the medical debt that it cost me.

I'm still here.

It's eight years later.

I'm looking to be here for another 20 some years, you know, getting on my daughter and my granddaughter's nerves.