More than $80,000 has been raised for a Maryland mother of five with terminal cancer after she established a GoFundMe page to help gather funds for her burial and her family when she dies. Kourtni Smith, 34, was diagnosed with stage 3 invasive lobular cancer in 2021 before being diagnosed with stage 4 in April, according to WUSA.
Doctors notified her a few weeks ago that the cancer had spread to her brain and that she would die in a few months. Smith discovered a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with the disease. She claimed she sought medical help after being unable to breastfeed her son.
Smith also said she delayed seeing a doctor because she was afraid. “Evidently, I was chosen for something. And I feel like now I can save somebody’s life,” Smith said. “Here I am only 34 and I’m dying, you know, because I was afraid to go to the doctor.”
Smith wrote on GoFundMe that she was told to undergo 8 rounds of chemotherapy and 15 radiation sessions following her diagnosis. Smith, on the other hand, said she felt more ill after her third round of chemo because her body couldn’t withstand the medication. Smith also stated that she is currently under hospice care.
The 34-year-old said she’s using her tale to urge other women who are hesitant to go to the doctor to do so. The GoFundMe campaign’s initial aim was $50,000, but more than $80,000 has since been raised.
“As I near the end of the road, my goal is to provide my husband with financial assistance for my funeral expenses as he will be a single father,” Smith wrote.
“I would want them to know that I love them and I love them so much that I would go to any measures, any drastic measures to make sure that they’re OK. Even beyond the grave,” she also told WUSA.