Diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer at just 29 years old, Drew McColley, a native San Antonian, is fighting for her life and medical bills are piling up.
But now, she’s getting help from complete strangers in her hometown and even from around the world.
She lives in New York but she still feels very much attached to the Alamo City. Eight months ago, her life changed.
“I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in late November of 2017. At the beginning of the new year, I started aggressive chemo treatment. ‘Power round’ as we call it, lasted for about five months,” she said.
The news came as a shock. But that intense feeling didn’t wear off, even after she started her treatment. With medical bills racking up, she says that worrying about how she was going to pay them was almost as bad as the cancer itself.
That’s where another San Antonian stepped in, someone Drew had never even met in person.
“So I said, ‘Let’s start a GoFundMe.’ And she said, ‘I don’t know what that is,’” recalled Angela Garcia, who works with Drew’s mother Becky at the King William Historic District.
“The thing you think least is that your daughter would have breast cancer, that my 29-year-old daughter would have breast cancer," Drew's mother said.
And when Angela heard the news, she knew she had to help in some way.
She started a GoFundMe account, which has now reached over $27,000 of its $50,000 goal.
“Just three days passed and the money just started flowing in and, initially, they were like, ‘How does this work?’” said Angela as the donations poured in from around the world. “They are complete strangers, that’s what’s amazing. And Drew has given us a day-by-day play-by-play on [the] GoFundMe [page]. If you go on the account and read the stories, it’s like, gosh, this girl is strong.”
“I was amazed by her generosity to take the time to do this, write a story about me, and set this all up. This has led to a huge amount of money donated to my medical bills, which I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for.”
Angela had cancer of her own last year, so she knows how tough the battle can be.
“The medical bills were overwhelming, so here you are trying to get healthy and better and you’re just stressing out about hospital bills and you can’t get better,” Angela said.
Now, Drew can focus less on bills and more on getting better. She has some advice for young women too.
“Go get checked,” she said. “Make sure you are aware of your body.
As for Angela, she hopes to meet Drew one day. She says that Drew inspires her every day.
“Her strength is overwhelming to watch and look at,” Angela said. “She calls herself a fiery redhead, and she truly is.”