My name is April Anders. I am a first generation College student. Last May 2024 my home was affected by the tornados (bad)and I had just started my PhD in Criminology( very good). More trouble was on the way that I could not imagine. I have two great nephews 12 & 13 that I am raising and was working as a licensed counselor in a neighboring city 30 minutes away. My 1st class was three weeks from ending and my 2nd class was starting in one week when I found out that I had Triple Negative Breast Cancer (aka HER2) Stage 2, they said it was very aggressive but treatable. I had to have 42 (yes..42) biopsies for various lumps. The lump biopsy that almost caused me to bleed out (over 25 minutes spent trying to stop the bleeding) was the one lump that was in a cancerous stage. My world stopped. I had two papers due for the 1st class and all my attempts to complete them kept failing because I was so distraught about the cancer. I have a disabling anxiety condition as well, but had pushed through it to attain my Masters and several other undergraduate degrees. I had an A before those papers and an F after they were due. I am very studious and generally an A/B student. This cancer caused me to ruminate daily about who would raise my great nephews if I died? I did the check-in for the 2nd class via an email but had to plea with them to drop the class the first week and they said no…that email was considered an official check-in and obligated me to the class. Guess what the email was asking? I was asking the Professor if I could get some leniency for the first couple weeks until I figured this cancer thing out. Of course, my attempt to be upfront was responded to with a very arrogant no and a suggestion to try the department that handled student disabilities. My dream to be a doctor, even with my oncologist vouching for me, was met with no’s at every turn. Well I had to close the door on that University and surrender to the lost because I needed to focus on my health instead. I was crushed and often seriously depressed over my health, my academic goals, and the thought of failing my great-nephews. Since June 2024 I have spent all of my energy combatting this cancer. I just started radiation this week (March 18, 2025-9 months after the diagnosis). Today, I finished round 3 of 20. After this, my oncologist states I will do 6 more months of chemo. However, it will be oral chemo with 6 pills daily. Please help me finish strong. Most of my fund request is to pay for my PhD because I intend to finish strong what I have started. I want to attend Western Michigan University for a PhD in Psychology. I only need a few hundred dollars to get my Jeep on the road again so I can drive my own vehicle to and from my appointments and class, instead of my 84 year old mother’s car. Please help me finish strong. All funds will be used for education, medical self-pay portions of bills, and transportation maintenance. Also as a former missionary to India and Kenya for 3.5 years, 
I have always believed in paying it forward. I promise to continue to help others, as well. Thank you for reading my story and for your help in advance.
Sincerely, April Anders
