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A Damn Good Life brings the gift of a total surrogacy journey to young breast cancer survivors and their partners who do not have the financial resources themselves to realize the dream of having a family after their diagnosis made it impossible.
Founded by three young breast cancer survivors, A Damn Good Life fills a gap in the treatment support structure for young breast cancer patients. As two of our founders were going through their respective treatment, they became aware they would not be able to carry their own children after having gone through the IVF process. As heartbreaking as that news was, even more shocking was the price tag to obtain a surrogate to carry their precious embryos. The surrogacy process costs ~$150,000.00 or more, and is not covered by insurance.
Our founders believe surrogacy should not be reserved for the patients who can afford it, which is a very small percentage of the women having to endure this shattering diagnosis and further fallout. It also became clear there were very few non-profits that provided assistance for women and their partners needing a surrogate but couldn’t afford one.
A Damn Good Life will provide a future family with access to the surrogacy journey, top to bottom, from day one. From helping to match the recipient with an agency, to providing 100% financial support and acting as a support system in the process; we will give the gift of a family where one didn’t seem possible. Having a baby should be every woman’s choice and we want to create possibility where it was taken away by breast cancer. A Damn Good Life will give the gift of just that, LIFE.
Sarrah Strimel-Bentley, Founder
Sarrah is the creator and founder of Damn Good Yoga. “It’s like seeing my therapist, a revival meeting, and a butt kicking workout, all wrapped together in one yoga class”. She has taught many events internationally, most recently for Bloomingdales annual PINK yoga class, kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma on 9/1/20, finishing her active treatment on 4/21/21 after a double mastectomy, two rounds of IVF, 8 rounds of chemotherapy, and 28 rounds of radiation. Her and her new husband have one embryo to begin their surrogacy journey with and are fortunate to do so! She continues to chronicle her experience through Instagram @damngoodyoga to raise awareness for other young women and been the face of Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaigns for Talbots and ABC News. Her personal motto is, “when walking down a road you didn’t expect to be on, you have two choices. To walk down it in fear, down trodden and heavy. Or to strut down it, looking around at all the joy amongst the unknown. Choose the latter!”
Victoria Raphael, Founder
Victoria, at 33 years old in late 2018, was diagnosed with stage 1A Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and triple hormone positive after her doctor found a small lump during a routine gynecology appointment. Since her cancer was detected early she was able to take the best course of action with the support of her phenomenal doctors, family and effective treatment plan. She is now cancer free. Prior to starting chemotherapy, Victoria was very fortunate to complete 1 round of fertility preservation and froze 13 embryos (8 genetically normal) with the intention of embarking the surrogacy journey with her husband Neema when she was cured.
A Damn Good Life is not only an amazing resource for women who need financial aid for surrogacy but a destination to access the Super Woman power, positivity and support we all need battling cancer. Victoria is extremely excited and proud to build this community with Sarrah and Annie and can’t wait to connect and support the women and families who are exploring the world of surrogacy.
Ann Palmer, Founder
Ann is a luxury hospitality professional who has represented luxury hotels and private members clubs in NYC, Miami, Los Angeles, Paris and Charleston among others. She was diagnosed with Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in 2020 at the age of 36. The diagnosis was particularly jarring after losing her mother to the same disease who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer in 1999 when Ann was a teenager. Her mom eventually succumbed to the disease in 2007. Her diagnosis was followed by two lumpectomies, a double mastectomy and two reconstructive surgeries. Thankfully because her wonderful team of doctors found the disease so early she did not have to go through additional treatments. Needless to say, Breast Cancer research, support, awareness and funding are causes very close to her heart. She has participated in fundraisers and raised money for various Breast Cancer organizations over the years and is thrilled to be starting A Damn Good Life with her two courageous friends who are going through the surrogacy journey.
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