Florida Attorney Battling Cancer Starts GoFundMe to Buy Home, Avoid Working ‘My Way Into My Grave Like My Mother Did’

A Florida public defender battling breast cancer, who wants to buy a home and retire, has started a GoFundMe campaign seeking contributions from the public to subsidize that objective.

Beth Bourdon, 53, needs $41,720, according to her GoFundMe, which was launched on Monday. As of Tuesday morning, more than $14,000 had been contributed to the cause.

Bourdon, of Orlando, shared links to the campaign on Facebook and X, the site once known as Twitter.

She was diagnosed in August, then had two surgeries — including a mastectomy — in October and November.

Bourdon, who is divorced and has been living alone since 2019, explained online her mother was 58 when she died from the same type of cancer. She's hoping to slow down and focus on her health.

"My problem is the cancer has put me in a position where I can't be aggressive with paying off credit cards, which will then put me in a position to buy a house, which will then allow me to retire in about 10 years," she claims.

She noted that public defenders earn a pittance compared to defense attorneys, but doesn't want people feeling bad for her.

"Should you have sympathy for me? No. I took a risk in life with my own firm and that failed, and I divorced my husband with no safety net," she wrote. "Are there people on here in worse positions than me who deserve your money? Yes."

Bourdon said nearly $40,000 in credit card debt is preventing her from buying a house.

"Why do I need to buy a house? I want to be able to retire instead of working my way into my grave like my mother did when she died of the same breast cancer at age 58," she wrote.

Bourdon, who anticipates she'll be able to retire after 62, also shared images of the two-bedroom, $352,500 abode she's got her eyes on.

The GoFundMe donations will be used to pay off her debt. If the fund surpasses her goal, she'll use that money to break her lease, make a down payment on the home, and move.

She said the GoFundMe page would be "shut down" if it reaches $120,000.