Let doors open for Carmen! A beautiful woman who's helped others all her life is now needing doors to open for her.

Carmen, 66, from Bohol, Philippines, is bravely battling Stage 4 Lung Cancer with bone metastasis.

She’s been working since she was just 6 years old — first to support her siblings in Manila, and later to raise her own six children in Bohol after her husband passed away in 2008. Over the years, Carmen has worked as a house cleaner, laundry woman, cook, massage therapist, and errand runner — doing whatever she could to care for others.

In 2024, after a bout with pneumonia, Carmen was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. A secondhand smoker most of her life, she now looks far older than her age due to decades of hard labor. Treatment includes chemotherapy, bone metastasis medication, and immunotherapy — costing around NZD6,500 every three weeks. Sadly, with only one child who's able to work, she can currently afford just the chemotherapy.

In June, weakened by her condition, she fell and broke her hip. She underwent emergency surgery for a metal implant.

Carmen has always put others first. Now, she dreams of simply resting, enjoying delicious meals without worry, and watching her grandchildren grow.

Carmen is the mother of my closest friend Lee. In 2011, a catastrophe almost ended my life and it was their family who'd opened the door of their home to shelter me. Now, the beautiful souls are needing help and I am just hoping doors will open for them, too!

Let’s help Carmen live the life she’s always given to others — one filled with love, dignity, and peace