In November of 2004, at the age of thirty-seven, Michelle Morey heard the three words no one is ever prepared to hear: “You have cancer.” The journey that followed was extremely difficult, at times humbling, but filled with unexpected blessings along the way.

While undergoing treatment for breast cancer (eight rounds of chemo and four surgeries), Michelle missed three months of work, and it was five months before she was able to return to work full time. Fortunately, Michelle had good insurance, and since she worked for her family business, she had the flexibility to take the time off that she needed to get healthy.

However, not all women are so fortunate, which Michelle realized. She couldn’t imagine the added stress that financial problems would have added to her already difficult struggle. So, she decided that she would donate money each month to the Breast and Women’s Cancer Center at North Memorial to help women who were in need of assistance.

The day Michelle was going to tell her nurse, Jean Pupkes, about her idea, she overheard another nurse on the phone at the front desk saying, “I need to find help for a patient who is losing weight because she can’t afford to buy food.” It was at that moment that Michelle knew she had to something more.

That something more was starting the Pay It Forward Fund.

She named it the Pay It Forward Fund with the hope that women who receive help will someday, somehow—financially or otherwise—find a way to “pay it forward” by helping other women during treatment.