By Choiselle Joseph
For Cara Alyssa Wiggins, every day is a battle – but not one she’s fighting alone.
Since being diagnosed in August 2023 with grade three to four glioblastoma, a highly aggressive and fast-spreading form of brain cancer, the 26-year-old Alleyne School alumna and former typist at the Ministry of Education has found strength not only in her own perseverance, but in the outpouring of love and support from her community.
“From people in general, it’s shocking . . . . Everything is positive. People reaching out, donating . . . sending their prayers if they can, donating . . . it was so overwhelming to me,” Cara said of the public response to her fundraising effort, which, at the time of writing, had amassed US$87 239, about 70 per cent of her goal.
Cara said she became sick last year: “It all began when I was travelling for vacation July last year, when I started to experience some unusual, sudden changes to my body. I became extremely concerned when my motor skills started to diminish at an increasing rate, and something as simple as walking became almost impossible to do on my own. I decided to go to the emergency room for a check-up and did a series of tests, scans, and MRIs, which showed abnormal findings in the brain. They performed a status biopsy and laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), which revealed terrible news of a terminal diagnosis.”
Glioblastoma is known to move swiftly through the brain and spinal cord, often accompanied by debilitating symptoms such as vision loss, intense headaches, nausea, and muscle weakness. Cara has already undergone radiation and chemotherapy, and is now pursuing open brain surgery – a life-saving procedure that costs US$120 000.
“After a few consultations with multiple medical teams, it was advised that I would have to undergo a combination of radiation therapy treatments along with oral chemotherapy . . . . Now I am trying to see if I can get the actual surgery done. Before I couldn’t get it done. I think because of the shifting in the brain, I’m able to do it now,” Cara told the Weekend Nation recently.
She has started a GoFundMe page because “we still have doctor visits to upkeep, accommodation to consider and basic living needs while abroad until treatments are over”.
She has gained the support of local artistes and entrepreneurs such as Jordan Eversley (Jordan English) and Damian Etienne (Hypasounds) among others.
Attention to her cause has spread through the $1 000 Entrepreneur Challenge started by Eversley, in which one entrepreneur donates $1 000 to Wiggins and posts a video nominating four others to do the same.
“[The response] has been really good. A lot of entrepreneurs came forward, like Randy Stewart from Boston . . . and they weren’t even tagged or selected from my end. Everybody along with us started making videos and then tagging their circles and it just took off,” Jordan English said of the challenge’s reach and hopes to “continue to push the campaign to the community” and attract the attention of larger companies to gain bigger donations.
Hypasounds, who was nominated by Jordan English, stated that Wiggins’ story has gained attention not only locally but also overseas.
“I was nominated by Bodied By B, a small business, to take part in the challenge. Then I thought, let me share it with my artiste friends so that everyone can play a part and help spread the word. People started sharing the video and now we have people from Atlanta, New York – even cancer societies – reaching out . . . . Everybody may not financially be able to support certain things, but by spreading the word it reaches as much people as possible,” said Hypasounds.
He emphasised the importance of supporting Wiggins’ cause in whatever way one is able, and urged Barbadians to empathise with her needs.
“Having just lost my father to cancer, I understand how important support is and how much you can’t always get what you need. But change is possible. We just have to do our part. Even if you can’t donate, just share the video with a friend.
“You never know where it might reach. This could be your sister, this could be a family member, this could be a friend . . . someone you love. Let’s play a part and be a family, be there for everybody.”
Choiselle Joseph is on a summer internship programme at The Nation Publishing Co Limited.
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