48 | Duneea | Pancreatic Cancer
Duneea is a pancreatic cancer warrior who fell ill and was hospitalized 3 times before being diagnosed in late 2023. She is currently on a rigorous chemotherapy regimen that has left her feeling very weak and symptomatic. Duneea had worked as a caregiver to an elderly woman, however due to the weakness and symptoms of her cancer treatments, she is no longer able to care for this woman, which has been very hard on her emotionally. Duneea has 3 young children and her husband works full time to support their family; however, they are struggling to get by, not only week to week, but day to day.
As if navigating her cancer diagnosis isn’t difficult enough, she recently lost 2 close family members that she is grieving. Also, the apartment building where she’s living is being renovated, and their family was given a very short notice that they had to relocate into another apartment temporarily. Duneea has found stairs to be very difficult and has requested to be in a first-floor apartment; however, the landlord hasn’t been very accommodating and she ended up on the third floor instead. When KWF team member, Sherri, contacted Duneea just days before Christmas to present her with a financial grant, she became very emotional saying how much this meant to their family and how it will help them. She mentioned that they were living out of boxes. It was during this conversation that Sherri felt compelled to ask Duneea if it would be okay for her to drive out to hand-deliver the grant, so that she would have it before Christmas. Duneea was so happy and welcomed her to come. When Sherri arrived, a strong sense of emotion overcame her when she saw the conditions this family was living in. Duneea welcomed her with an immediate hug and offered her to sit down and visit, bringing her freshly brewed Turkish coffee. Sherri’s visit lasted over an hour and during the conversation is when it really hit and she realized just how much this grant would make a difference for this family. Duneea walked Sherri over to her boys bedroom showing her a small mattress on the floor that her children all slept together on. She said that they would most likely use part of the grant to buy another mattress and a bed for her kids. “It was truly heartbreaking, but I felt a sense of ease for this family, as I know this grant will help them tremendously”.
As Sherri was leaving, Duneea made her make a promise that she would come back and visit her soon.
Duneea is a beautiful warrior and a very special woman who has been through so much in the past few months.
We were honored to be able to provide a financial grant to help Duneea and her family during this difficult time.
We thank all of you who have continued to support us. Without your generosity, we wouldn't be able to provide these grants.