July 25, 2025
I never do this. I never promote causes or ask for money.
However…
Fifteen years ago, when I published The Fighter Queen, a talented young photographer named Rachel Smak (yes, that’s her real name) took the photo of the Fighter Queen for the book cover. The subject of the photo was Monica Zimmer, my wife’s niece. Monica and Rachel are close friends.
Fast-forward to 2025. I have just learned that Rachel, who is only 39, is fighting for her life against stage 3 colon cancer. Not only that, her life has been back-to-back tragedy for several years now, leaving her single and facing this crisis alone. (I will post her story in her own words later in this message.)
The good news is that someone has set up a GoFundMe account to help with Rachel’s medical bills (she has no insurance). I have already donated and I am asking any of you who are able to also chip in. The amount can be as little as $5. The target amount is $65K and $21K has already been raised. If you can’t, you can’t. No judgment. But please, if you can spare just a few bucks. let’s help give Rachel a fighting chance. I will be forever grateful.
The following is a post from Rachel’s Facebook page, posted July 9, 2025. It tells the rest of the story:
Rachel’s Story in her own words:
I disappeared from social media over a year ago. Not because I wanted to, but because life became unrecognizable.
Last August, I was diagnosed with stage 3C rectal cancer. By then, so much had already been stripped away. My apartment flooded earlier that year, destroying most of my belongings—including my livelihood of 20 years as a photographer. I had renters insurance but it had a black mold exclusion and nothing was covered. Two months later, my dad died of dementia.
Desperate for stability, I moved to Idaho with a man I’d been dating long distance during the cancer diagnosis. I thought I’d found someone to stand with me through cancer treatments and surgery. By May, I had a chemo port placed and was ready to start treatment in Idaho.
But in June, the man I thought would hold me during cancer treatments, told me he didn’t love me and kicked me out with 15 days notice. I had no job. No savings. No one else in Idaho. So I packed what little I had left—what fit in my car—and drove away. The rest of my life is still sitting in a barn there, gathering dust.
Now I’m in Texas, with $400 to my name, chasing a miracle treatment for my advanced cancer. But I can’t start—or continue—without a stable place to stay. I’m technically homeless. No parents. No partner. No children. No safety net. And I’m too sick to work.
Cancer doesn’t care about your plans or your pride. It just takes. Some friends helped me create a GoFundMe to help cover housing, food, and treatment for the next eight months. Any amount helps. A share helps. Even just reading this helps—because it means I’m not invisible.
This isn’t the story I thought I’d be telling at 39. But it’s the one I’m living.
In addition to my gofundme that’s been set up for me, I have also created a website where you can read all about cancer—SEASON 1, and what I’ve been up to since I went silent. That website is www.cancerisagift.org
If you would like to donate, here is the link. Again, THANK YOU!
Born Novelist 