Team Maggie’s Dream

I was diagnosed with cancer at 25 and I hadn’t considered making the decision in 7 days if I wanted to risk my fertility. Team Maggie helped reduce my stress tremendously financially and opened the door to belong to a new community. With Team Maggie I was given the opportunity to freeze my eggs and have the chance to have biological children. I’m so thankful for Team Maggie to be apart of my cancer journey and for it to be a good experience when cancer is a negative for so many.

In 2019, getting diagnosed with brain cancer at 22 years old was the scariest thing to have ever happened to me. Grappling with the potential loss of my fertility due to chemotherapy treatments made my diagnosis even more terrifying. I was lucky enough to have time to freeze eggs before starting treatment, but the process was emotionally, physically, and financially straining. My insurance refused to cover any of my egg freezing costs, even as a young, female, CANCER patient. I am so incredibly fortunate that my reproductive center recommended applying for a Team Maggie fertility grant to help cover some of the costs. $2,000 went a long way in keeping alive my dream of biological children. Not only does this organization serve a great cause, but they keep in communication with their past recipients about ways we can help give back. This was not just a one-time gift, but an invitation to be part of a community. I am so grateful to Team Maggie For A Cure and want other young cancer patients to have access to this type of service!

Hello..I am on the Board of Directors for Team Maggie and my best friend is Mary Jones who is the CEO and her daughter Maggie is how this all started..to help young adults with Cancer seeking fertility preservation..I am in the Detroit area and the young woman that i have been with here has been the most rewarding who we have given a grant to. They all have there own stories but they can all come together when we meet for dinner with husbands and share with with each other there own experience in this new life they are dealing with..I would not have it any other way..

I am so thankful to Team Maggie for blessing me with a grant! As a young person diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30 with no children, the Team Maggie grant allowed me the opportunity to preserve my eggs and future hopes of having a family. It also helped to relieve a lot of emotional stress as I navigated my cancer treatment. Mary and the entire staff were phenomenal. After providing me with the grant, Mary also invited me to Team Maggie's annual 5K walk/run fundraiser. I was so happy to be acknowledged at the 5K walk/run as one of the grant recipients.

A cancer diagnosis can be frightening and confusing for many. A cancer diagnosis that is accompanied with a potential loss of fertility can be particularly devastating. Team Maggie helps provide financial relief and hope for patients who want to preserve their fertility. I've been impressed with the conscientiousness of the board and the drive of its leadership. Their commitment to supporting young women who are in need is admirable and I am delighted to be a part of this nonprofit!

I am so grateful for Team Maggie! This is a wonderful organization that helped me during an incredibly stressful time of my life. I have always dreamed of having my own family, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma at age 27. I only had a few days to come up with a significant amount of money to undergo fertility treatment before beginning chemo. Everyone associated with Team Maggie is so kind! I have personally met with Mary, the founder, as well as a group of grant recipients in my area. This nonprofit continues to be a source of encouragement and very informative!!

Team Maggie was there when I needed support the most. I don’t know where I would be today if it wasn’t for the continued support.

Team Maggie helped me during one of the hardest times of my life. I was a newlywed looking forward to start trying to have children this year when I got the news I had cancer. One of the first things that crossed my mind was that I might not be able to have children of my own now. After going through our options we set up an appointment with a fertility doctor to preserve my eggs before I started chemo. Unfortunately most insurances don’t cover the cost of fertility even with a cancer diagnosis. That’s when I learned about team Maggie. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to show how grateful I am to this foundation of helping me during the hardest time of my life. Because of team Maggie my husband and I will be able to have a family of our own. Thank you Team Maggie!

I was so blessed to receive a grant from Team Maggie when I needed it the most. I was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer and age 32, and everything came to a screeching halt. My oncologist wanted to start chemo right away so I had to make some very hard fertility decisions in 2-weeks time. Because of the support from Team Maggie, both financial and through a personal phone conversation, I felt supported in making these hard decisions. I was able to have my eggs preserved and even through this crazy hard time in my life, my hopes for a family were preserved, thanks to Team Maggie. I really don't know what I would have done without their support!

Team Maggie is wonderful! I was recently diagnosed with colon cancer at age 30 and will need to begin chemotherapy next week. I'm currently doing fertility preservation as my husband and I really want to have children and do not want chemo to take that away from us. We found out this cost is very very expensive but Team Maggie has helped ease the financial stress. As I begin my chemo soon, it is so reassuring knowing that we have our embryos frozen...one less stressor in the chaos! Thanks so much Team Maggie for helping us with this opportunity...it really means so much!

I was 31 when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer. My oncologist informed me that I would require chemotherapy as part of my treatment plan. I immediately thought about my desire to have children one day. Then, I realized how much IVF treatments actually costed, and how I couldn’t afford it. Team Maggie helped me with some of the cost of egg preservation, which I couldn’t have done without that donation. I was able to do this quickly without delaying my cancer treatments. Now, I have the possibility to have children of my own one day, and I couldn’t have done it without Team Maggie! Thank you for everything you’ve done to change my future of having a family one day. It’s truly an honor to have been touched by this organization.

Team Maggie is just an amazing organization. After our college-aged daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 19 and egg preservation became necessary, Team Maggie was there for us. The application process was not complicated and the staff were so caring and compassionate. We will always be grateful for the support that Team Maggie showed us at a very unsettling and vulnerable time in our lives. We are very grateful for the work that Team Maggie continues to do for families such as ours.

Team maggie is absolutely wonderful! I’m so glad to have been a recipient of their grant as they helped me with medical expenses for ovarian cancer. The staff is phenomenal and Ms Mary is so kind and caring! Thank you all so so much!

I was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma a few months ago. Fertility preservation was not something I ever thought I would need to be thinking about in my mid-20s, but I am so thankful that my doctor lead me down that path and put me in contact with Team Maggie. Mary and the team not only have been a huge support financially, but also emotionally. Even beyond the egg harvesting, Mary continues to check in and see how I am doing on treatment. It feels like I have a whole family behind me that didn't even know I existed prior to 4 months ago. Team Maggie is one of the reasons I can continue on in my treatment with a positive and hopeful outlook.

Team Maggie really helped me in time of need. I didn't have money set aside for cancer. Thank you for my assistance Team Maggie!!!! Here is my story:

Earlier this year, I heard a voice tell me to get the BRCA Gene Mutation test. A test that I had never gotten. My Aunt, who tested positive, was diagnosed and survived breast cancer 15 years ago. Since then, many family members have also tested positive. Maybe it is because I have always felt healthy, and honestly I didn't understand how high the risks are for developing breast and/or ovarian cancer with this mutation. So I listened to that voice, had the blood test and the results came back. I tested positive for BRCA1 Gene Mutation. I met with my genetic counselor for a second visit to discuss my risks, and she passed along the names of a few oncologists.

I made my screening appointment a few months later. The oncologist felt a lump during my first screening appointment. Four mammograms, two ultrasounds, two biopsies, and a MRI later I had Triple Negative Breast Cancer in both breasts. I found out about the left side first and the right side a few weeks later. All of the sudden I am thrown into a world of tumors, surgery, chemo, receptors, and it all happened with a phone call. My world was upside down.

After my double mastectomy, I met with 3 different doctors that all agreed I needed chemo since my cancer is triple negative. I also discussed which chemo with all 3 doctors. Since I haven't had kids yet, freezing my eggs was recommended to me because chemo could put me into early menopause and there is no going back. So I had the surgery, froze my eggs, and began chemo. It all happened really fast, and I didn't have money set aside for cancer. It wasn't something I was planning on and all of sudden I had to make a lot of decisions fast.

Be your own advocate. Write down everything, and take someone with you to EVERY appointment. If you can't bring someone with you, see if someone can FaceTime with you or ask the Dr. if you can record the session. You will remember very little from each appointment. Get more than one opinion. This is your life and it is important to make sure more than one doctor agrees on your path. If you have surgery, such as a double mastectomy, make sure you do physical therapy as soon as you are cleared to do so. Meet with a dietitian and ask if your hospital offers it as a free service. If you are going through chemo, your body will need more protein and supplements than it normally does. Also, ask about grants that may be available to you. Take this time to love yourself. Tell yourself, "This is my time to ask for what I need. I am going to thrive, beat this, and will be a happier person from it.” Every day do at least 3 things for yourself. There is no limited, so go for 10 if you like! Walk, garden, journal, take a bath, get a massage, acupuncture, dance, sing, whatever makes you soul soar.


As a physician who counsels women about fertility preservation prior to cancer treatment, I can tell you that finances are one of the biggest barriers to being able to preserve fertility. How amazing that Team Maggie has been able to make this dream a reality for so many! As a medical board member, I can attest firsthand to the altruistic and caring nature of this nonprofit. If they could help every single woman with cancer who wanted to preserve her fertility, they would!

Team Maggie helped ease the financial stress of fertility preservation after I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30. We still have to wait a couple of years before I can try to get pregnant, but it is so reassuring that we have embryos waiting for us when that time comes. There IS life after cancer and we are looking forward to continuing to grow our family! Thanks, Team Maggie, for helping to keep our dream alive!

I had the good fortune of being a grant recipient. Now I am a board member. The process for applying for a grant was easy, quick and fair. As a board member I have seen how respectfully and compassionately each applicant is treated. I am proud to be a member of team that works so quickly and diligently to help men and women who are in need of rapid support, both emotionally and financially. For anyone considering applying for a grant, know that Team Maggie For a Cure will do everything in their power to help you when you need it most.

Fertility is often not the first consideration when a diagnosis of cancer is received. Team Maggie increases awareness of both newly diagnosed individuals as well as healthcare providers. Resources help those access affordable care to preserve fertility options.

I wanted to be a part of Team Maggie as soon as I learned about it. This organization is doing an incredible service to the entire community and culture at large. They are raising awareness to a very little known side effect of receiving a cancer treatment - infertility. Not only are they making concerted efforts to bridge the education and awareness gap, but they are actively helping individuals with funding so that their dreams and hopes of family may endure. There is heart, a genuine desire to help these folks with their dreams of family, and constant persistence to reach and help more. I am honored to be a part of this organization.

Team Maggie was amazing, there from the very beginning with a fertility grant to help ease the immense financial stress we were experiencing post colon-cancer diagnosis. They weren't only there for the money, though, providing advice and support, contacts, events, and regular check-ins throughout my fertility, then chemo process and beyond. I'm healthier now (1 year post chemo), and I will forever appreciate the support and the community Team Maggie has provided me with!

The people at Team Maggie were very professional and caring when my daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015, and they provided us with important information regarding the advantages of having her eggs removed before beginning treatment for her cancer. The Team Maggie organization generously donated money to help with the cost of this procedure, and we are eternally grateful.