In an ideal world, Stéphanie Alain would already be in Calgary and part of an experimental treatment she's hoping will save her life.

Instead, the 31-year-old from Rouyn-Noranda, Que., is stuck at home with her four-year-old son, having to commute to Montreal for cancer treatment that her doctors say isn't working.

Last year, she was diagnosed with alveolar soft part sarcoma, a rare cancer that has since spread to her lungs.

Alain's only hope for a recovery lies in the clinical trial in Calgary. The doctors running the trial in Alberta say their funding will cover the cost of her treatment, but RAMQ, Quebec's health insurance board, won't cover any of the other expenses — standard procedures like scans and blood tests as well as possible adverse reactions associated with the experimental trial.

"It's the only treatment in the world that exists that could cure me," said Alain.