‘I’m still here, I beat this thing’: Drake gifts $25,000 to woman who beat cancer

WKBW, VONNIE MCCARTER, CNN

By Taylor Epps

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    BUFFALO, New York (WKBW) — Seeing your favorite artist in concert can be life-changing, giving you memories that will last a forever.

But when you have floor tickets for Drake at the Keybank Center, anything can happen.

“I was expecting maybe a wink, maybe a hug,” said Vonnie McCarter.

But she got much more than that. She got $25,000.

“He was literally right in front of me and I had my sign up and it just caught his eye,” said McCarter.

Her sign reads, “I beat stage four cancer, just in time to see Drake, God’s Plan”.

She was diagnosed in June 2022, but it took her months to get that diagnosis because she’s only 35.

“And they’re like, we don’t do colonoscopies unless you’re 55 and older. I couldn’t get them, it took three months for me to pressure them to get a colonoscopy. By the time they gave me the colonoscopy it was already at stage three,” said McCarter.

She kept pushing because she’s a single mother of 3-year-old twins.

But during chemotherapy at Roswell Park, they found the cancer had spread to her lungs, making it stage four cancer.

“I was writing my kids letters every night like ‘If mommy’s not here, I want you to know this,’ and making preparations for my mom to take care of my kids,” said McCarter.

But after a successful surgery in December 2023, she’s cancer free.

After her surgery, she had 6-8 weeks of recovery, taking her right up to the week Drake was set to perform in Buffalo. And she went all by herself.

“Tickets were $500…no one wanted to spend that amount of money to see Drake and I was like I have to see Drake,” said McCarter.

It’s safe to say her investment paid off. She’s going through the paperwork now to get her $25,000.

What will she do with it?

“I plan on taking my kids on vacation, we had a long last two years, so I just plan on taking the twins and we’re just gonna enjoy our new life,” said McCarter.

By the way, one of her kids’ is named Aubrey. If you know, you know.

She’s also using this life-changing moment to spread awareness.

“Be your biggest advocate…Get screened, get a primary doctor, just follow up with everything concerning your health, it can be critical,” said McCarter.

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