An image of Ashley Kirilow from her MySpace page. Many of her profile pictures show the Burlington, Ont., woman hairless. (MySpace)

Halton regional police are investigating a complaint that a young woman from Burlington, Ont., lied about having cancer to encourage others to donate money to her and a charity she had supposedly established.

Friends and supporters of Ashley Kirilow, 23, say they helped her raise thousands of dollars, including some for the "non-profit" organization, "Change" for a Cure, which according to its Facebook page was intended to help fund drug research at the University of Alberta.

But many people who helped Kirilow raise money say they were contacted by Kirilow's father and stepmother and told that the young woman never had cancer.

Jan Care, who helped organize a benefit concert to aid Kirilow, said she felt compelled to help the young woman after having lost a 34-year-old niece to breast cancer, and said she now feels betrayed. Care said Kirilow's parents apologized for her daughter's actions and said they were seeking help for her.

Marie-France Robertson Kirilow, the wife of Kirilow's father, Mike, said in an email to CBC her husband was on his way Friday to visit Halton police to give a video statement.

"This has been very trying for the family. We are upset and embarrassed by Ashley's behaviour. We are private people and hate this invasion of privacy," said Robertson Kirilow.

Police received complaint in June

Halton police confirmed they received a fraud complaint in June and they are investigating, though no charges have been laid.

The CBC was unable to reach Kirilow for comment. However, she contacted both the Toronto Star and the QMI News Agency, admitted to the deception and said she planned to pay back the money owed.

Many people CBC spoke with or contacted said they were in disbelief when they first heard that Kirilow did not have cancer.

Adam Catley said he helped raise $9,000 in September 2009 at a fundraiser at the Queen's Head pub in Burlington to help pay some of Kirilow's expenses.

"She told me she was broke, she had nowhere to live and this is while she was sick," said Catley.

Kirilow's MySpace page includes many pictures of the thin young woman with no hair, an appearance she claimed was a result of ongoing chemotherapy treatment. On the page she lists her occupation as "fighting for my life."

In October 2009, Kirilow established a Facebook page for "Change" For a Cure, which she wrote would encourage people to donate spare change for a cancer-fighting drug. The group now has over 4,000 members.

In December she emailed the CBC's Kimberley Gale and told her "I have a lot of money raised already and I want to walk to personally deliver it in Alberta where they are researching it."

Artist Matt Vardy said in an email correspondence that Kirilow had asked him to accompany her to the University of Alberta and document the journey, but he said he had lost touch with her after declining the request and feared she had died in the interim.

In March, Kirilow posted on her Facebook page that her illness had taken a turn for the worse and she had weeks to live.

Warning signs were there: friend

Nicole Armes said she grew up with Kirilow and also felt a kinship to the young woman's cause, having lost her own father to cancer.

Armes said in an email to CBC she set aside the thoughts there was anything fishy about her friend's story because she figured she had only months to live. But she wrote that there were warning signs, including Kirilow's refusal of medical equipment that Armes and her mother offered to help make treatment more bearable.

"My head just can't grasp the fact that someone could do this to so many people," wrote Armes. "It makes me so sad to think she's ruined it for the next person who desperately needs our help and may not get it because people will be hesitant to donate."

The Canadian Cancer Society said Friday it had become aware that an individual solicited donations in support of a personal cancer cause.

The charity said potential donors should remember to check whether a charitable organization is registered with the Canada Revenue Agency and report cases where fraud is suspected.

With files from the CBC's Mike Crawley, Kimberley Gale