Letter: Gainesville woman with cancer asks for help to avoid eviction
Letter to the editor
My name is Christina McCormack, and I am writing to share a situation that has become life‑threatening. I am currently undergoing treatment at UF Health Cancer Hospital for a diagnosed ependymoma brain tumor. I began treatment on January 12, 2025, and my medical team is working toward remission. Despite this, I am now facing imminent eviction, and losing my home would end my ability to continue treatment.
Over the past year, insurance denials for essential medications and treatments forced me to pay out of pocket until I had nothing left. I have exhausted every available resource. Each day I live with the fear that the Sheriff’s Office may arrive to begin the eviction process. My survival odds have already declined sharply, and without stable housing, I will not be able to continue the care that is keeping me alive.
I recently secured a new job, which gives me hope, but my first paycheck is still weeks away and will not be enough to stop the eviction or address the debt that accumulated during treatment. My young son is currently staying safely with my parents, but they cannot take me in. I also care for several rescue animals — many elderly or medically fragile — who will be taken to a shelter if I lose my home. I am fighting cancer, unemployment, and homelessness at the same time, and I am running out of time.
As a last lifeline, I created a GoFundMe to help me remain housed long enough to continue treatment and regain stability:
GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/98be075ad
For months I have tried to get my story heard. I have reached out to organizations, social services, and assistance programs, but I have been denied at every turn. I am asking, with as much humility as I can, for help in sharing my story. Even a brief mention could reach someone who can help me survive this moment.
Thank you for your time, compassion, and consideration.
Christina McCormack, Gainesville
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
There have been GoFundMe scammers, so I hope AC verified the writer’s claims before publishing this. Including about parents not taking her in, just her son.
Letters to the editor are not vetted, although this author sent us a letter from UF Health Shands that confirmed she was being treated for cancer in early 2025. As is usually the case when giving directly to a beneficiary, donors should use their judgment in deciding whether to give and how much to give, balancing the benefit of potentially helping someone in need against the risk that the funds might be misused.
Curious as to why her parents can’t take her in. Seems like they could if even only temporarily.