Summary

Kate remembers Christmases with her family in Canada and knows that this year she needs a miracle. She then learns that there are "a few variables that might change the course of [her] treatment" (89). After testing, she finds out that she is part of just three percent of people who have a specific type of advanced colon cancer which makes her eligible for new treatment options. Kate calls this "magic cancer" (90).

Kate then begins the process of applying to a clinical trial in Atlanta, however, her health insurance refuses to pay for it. After she has exhausted all her options, her father offers to pay with his savings. Other family members have also appraised their assets "to see what they can cobble together to save [her] life" and Kate realizes that her "best shot at survival will bankrupt [her] family (92). Desperate, Kate...