Chemo. Radiation. PET Scan. Chemo. Radiation. PET Scan. That’s what life became when my mother was diagnosed with stage ll cervical cancer. It was just before Christmas Eve, December 23rd of 2024. I can still remember how my heart dropped as I heard her doctor say the word “Cancer”. I remember how her best friend held me as I cried. I remember imagining a life without my mom, and realizing that was not a world I’d ever want to know. Through my mother’s cancer diagnosis I learned there is no price you can put on life. Throughout my mother’s treatment, everyone insisted that the most important thing was to be her health; “As long as you’re healthy, that’s all that matters”. While these people meant well, they severely misunderstood the ways cancer impacts one’s world outside of their physical health. The same way cancer can spread throughout one’s body, it seeps into every aspect of your life. The financial burden cancer put on our family was the most devastating we ever experienced. Due to the frequency and physical impact of my mother’s treatment, she was left unable to work. I became the breadwinner of our family, carrying the burden of supporting two people on an income not far from minimum wage in New York City. To put it lightly, times were rough. I tried my best to keep us afloat, but money can only stretch so far. I began to dip into the college fund I had spent a year pouring into. Eight thousand dollars became seven, seven thousand became six, and so on until I was left with less than three thousand dollars. What was meant to fund my first year at community college couldn’t even fund a semester. Though my primary concern was my mother’s health, financial responsibilities didn’t disappear. May 2025 marked the month in which my mother completed treatment. My family can without a doubt proclaim that was the highlight of our year. But her journey with cancer didn’t end there. Bills upon bills began to pour in. Though insurance covered a majority of the cost, the portion of coinsurance for which she was responsible was in the thousands. While recovering from the effects of cancer, chemotherapy, and radiation, my mother was still expected to handle her debt. Her health was her primary concern, but financial responsibilities didn’t disappear. Once again, I supported her the best I could. It wasn’t easy, but then again nothing worth doing is. Despite the setbacks I experienced both financially and educationally, I would do it all again. After learning what it was like to believe I could lose her; there is no price I could ever put on my mother’s life.