Scantlebury Wealth Management

Imagine starting a new job, full of hope for the future, only to have your world turned upside down two weeks later. That is exactly what happened to Kayla in 2023. After finding a lump on her neck and experiencing difficulty swallowing, she was diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma - a rare and aggressive form of thyroid cancer. The problem for Kayla was a simple one: she had recently taken time off to care for her two small children; and, she hadn't built up enough hours in her new job, in her new role. The result? She was completely ineligible for EI sickness benefits. Which brings me to a key point: the financial strain of a critical illness doesn’t just come from the loss of a paycheck. Sometimes, the hidden cost is just receiving the treatment. In Kayla’s case, this meant travelling 3 hours from a rural home to an urban centre. In Kayla’s case, this meant leaving young children behind for 6 weeks during treatment, isolating children from their ill parent at a time when...

A cancer diagnosis is inherently life-changing. It comes with so much: having to make hard choices, experiencing immediate emotional stress, dealing with medical uncertainty, and having to choose between difficult treatments. However, that same diagnosis brings an unexpected, systemic side effect that few families are fully prepared to face: profound financial hardship. According to research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) an estimated 33% to 40% of cancer patients in Canada experience severe financial distress after a cancer diagnosis. The reason for this is simple. While basic medical treatments (surgeries, hospital stays, and in-hospital drugs) can be covered by provincial healthcare, Canadian cancer patients shoulder various costs. This could include out-of-pocket expenses like medicines, loss of wages or financial missed opportunities. Sometimes, these expenditures are avoidable. However, other charges - like car payments and mortgage payments - are se...

The field is quietest just before dusk, when the long shadows of the goals stretch across the grass. For Sarah, that patch of green had always been a sanctuary. It was where she had out-sprinted her anxiety during final exams, and where, during a fierce co-ed match in her university days, an accidental collision led to an apology, a post-game coffee, and eventually, a wedding band. Now, that same love of the game lived on in the frantic, joyful energy of her two sons. Watching them chase the ball from the sidelines, she could still hear the precise, familiar thwack of a perfect strike. Sarah’s life had been defined by that kind of momentum. She possessed a quiet, unstoppable drive, earning her Bachelor of Science and started her Masters, before pivoting and securing her doctorate. As a researcher at a major medical facility, her days were spent unweaving complex human puzzles, dedicated to finding answers that would save lives. She was successful, fulfilled, and deeply grounded by the ...