Help Cancer Patients Access Medications!

As we are gradually adjusting to life during pandemic, we are still working through disruptions of supply chains and travel restrictions.  However, as patients continue needing our support with medications, we have to find ways to help them.

We have been recently asked by our sister charity, Advita Fund in St Petersburg, to help pay for an antifungal drug, Amphomoronal.  It is needed to treat children with cancer who come to St. Petersburg for treatment from all over Russia.  Patients with cancer who are treated with chemotherapy or receive a bone marrow transplant have an increased risk of picking up fungal infections. Such infections can be life-threatening. Antifungal drugs are designed to prevent or overcome these infections.

We are raising funds to purchase 100 packages of Amphomoronal that will be shipped to Russia from Germany.  It is not registered in Russia and has no domestic analogues.  The government-funded healthcare does not pay for this medication, which means it is left up to the charities to supply hospitals and patients with this drug.  Your support will help us ensure that children with cancer are able to access appropriate medications at the right time and in the right dosage. 

This week, you have a great opportunity to maximize your impact - Little by Little campaign that starts on Monday, Spetember 14th, will match at 50% all donations of up to $50 through Friday, September 18th!  And if you sign up for monthly donations, they will add on another 100% of your donation!  Thank you so much for staying with our project and supporting cancer patients!

Stay safe!

Covid-19 had changed our lives in a multitude of ways.  Most of us had to stay at home for longer stretches than ever in our lives.  Our activities dwindled to a few: grocery shopping, cautious walks near the house, watching more TV than we would like to admit.  It seems our lives were put on pause suddenly.  We are frozen in time and space as we await for the number of infections to come down.

For others, like medical workers in epidemic hot spots, things sped up instead.  Their lives revolve around hundreds and thousands of patients who stream into the hospitals and often need urgent care and lightning-speed decisions. 

For cancer patients, things have changed too.  Supply chains have been disrupted, and it is more difficult to obtain medications manufactured abroad.  Criminals have stepped in with fake medications sold on black market that cause harm to patients seeking to continue treatment.   It is now more difficult to obtain government and charitable support, as funds are being diverted to relief from coronavirus infection.

Since the start of epidemic, we have helped two women obtain medications for their cancer treatment.  Irina has been battling colon cancer for three years, and her cancer began growing again in early 2020.  In January she managed to travel to Israel and obtain a prescription for a third-line therapy, which helped to get cancer under control.  But in March, as the borders closed, she had to buy the medicine in her native Ukraine.  It turned out to be fake and caused Irina to swell and gasp for breath.  Irina spent a week in the hospital in recovery.  Afterwards, her doctor in Israel helped to locate two packages of medication available for shipping by DHL, and we paid the bill to make sure Irina could continue necessary care. 

Marina has been battling mesothelioma, rare abdominal cancer, since 2015 and needed immunotherapy medication.  Prior to pandemic she could buy cheaper medication abroad.  Now that shipments have ceased, she can only access medications previously brought to Ukraine, and their prices have jumped recently.  We have been supporting Marina so that she was able to afford the last two medication purchases. 

Our ability to offer help is dependent on our supporters, like you!  And we are so grateful to know that our supporters recognize the difficulty the pandemic adds to cancer patients.  We have been fortunate to maintain our donor base and we are humbled by your kindness.  Thank you so much! 

Hope you had a great start of the year!  Here at Advita USA we are working closely with our partner, Advita Fund in St. Petersburg to help them overcome challenges with supplying medications to cancer patients.  

During 2019, Russian patients faced a new hurdle.  For various reasons, many medications began disappearing from the pharmacies and hospitals.  They included chemotherapy drugs and supporting medications, many categorized as Essential Medicines by World Health Organization.  Sometimes, individual pharmacies would choose pricier drugs to replace cheaper analogs.  Or the government-approved prices were too low for the manufacturers who would decide to exit Russian market altogether. 

Natulan is one of the essential drugs that has been affected.  Also known as procarbazine, it's one of the mainstays of cancer treatment, particularly for Hodgkin's lymphoma and brain cancers.  Since it's been discovered decades ago, in the 1960s, it is one of the cheaper drugs available.  However, it suddenly became difficult to find around the country.  

Recently, we used your donations to purchase $1,800 worth of Natulan for patients in St. Petersburg.  We appreciate your support and hope you continue staying with us.  Unfortunately, supply of medications remains unpredictable and often the medicines are priced much higher than if purchased abroad.   We will continue to monitor the situation and support the patients as necessary.  

Thank you! 

Medication needs of cancer patients are very broad.  Not only do they include chemotherapy medications, but also medicine to treat side effects, to prevent complications, to increase blood counts, and many others.  Among them, are antiviral drugs. 

Cancer patients recovering from toxicities associated with chemotherapy and other treatments are often vulnerable to infections, and suffer more severe illness as a result of infection.  Antiviral drugs, just like antibiotics and antifungals, are essential for protection of cancer patients during their lengthy treatment process.  Most recently, we have used your donations to purchase medications to support cancer patients needing intensive care. 

Foscavir is a medication that treats viral infections - usually herpes viruses, such as herpes simplex and drug-resistant CMV.  Often, it's the last resort drug used in intensive care units.  Although it has been available since 1990s, it is not registered in Russia. For that reason, the hospitals are unable to acquire it and have to ask charities for help with making it available for gravely sick patients.  The medication has to be on hand, because once the infection spirals out of control, it is a matter of days, and sometimes hours, before it becomes lethal. 

Thanks to your support, we were able to pay $2,700 towards the costs of acquiring Foscavir for hospitals in St. Petersburg in August, and we anticipate another bill soon.   Thank you so much for helping us support cancer patients with this vital medication and save lives! 

Happy upcoming holiday season to you!  Stay warm! 

Cancer diagnosis carries with it the weght of worry and confusion, choices and decisions, disruption and delays. It is also very costly.  Almost 40% of patients deplete their life savings as a result of the diagnosis.  Your support is vital to the patients and in many cases it's the only way they can afford the necessary medications. 

Most recently, we used your donations to help Gulnara from Tajikistan.  Since 2012 she has been battling breast cancer.  Letrozole is a medicine often prescribed to keep women like her from recurrence, but it is not available in Tajikistan.  Her family has to purchase it abroad and pay for it out of their own pocket.  Without our help, they would not have been able to afford it. 

And it's small donations that enable us to help patients like Gulnara.  Donations of up to $25 make up 65% of total donations we receive, while those of $26-$50 comprise additional 20%.  Small donations are our foundation - without them we would crumble and fall.  We want you to know that we are grateful for donations of any size.  What matters to us is your support and dedication to helping cancer patients. 

If you would like to take advantage of a bonus to your donation, Little by Little Campaign week returns on Monday, August 12th!  This campaign celebrates the mighty power of small donations.  A 60% match on any donation of $50 or less will be given for as long as the bonus funds last.  In addition, bonus prizes for most money raised and most unique donors will be available.

That's not all - all new recurring donors will get an additional 100% match on their initial donation as long as it remains active for a minimum of four payments.

Thanks again and hope you join us the week of August 12th!