Help Cancer Patients Pay for Travel Expenses!

Sergei is 30.  He works in contruction and lives in Kharkiv, Ukraine.  Four years ago, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, one of the most common cancers of teens and young adults.  It is curable for the majority of the patients, but for a few unlucky ones the disease comes back and then it becomes more difficult to treat. 

Unfortunately, Sergei did relapse after 4 cycles of chemotherapy and 15 sessions of radiation treatment.  In October 2019 he restarted chemotherapy and was due for transplantation of his own stem cells in April 2020.  Due to covid-19 quarantine, his transplant was postponed to June, but by then its effect only lasted three months.  During a control examination, Sergei was diagnosed with another cancer recurrence.

This time, Sergei has to undergo even more intensive treatment and receive bone marrow transplant from a donor.  A donor was found in Turkey, and Sergei will be able to undergo transplantation there.  He was able to raise funds for the treatment, but he will have to stay in Turkey for at least six months after transplant to make sure his body accepts it.  During that time, he will also need to have a supporting person - his wife, his sister or his mom -  to take care of him while he is recovering.  Travel and lodging expenses are a considerable burden for Sergei's young family, and he asked us for help. 

Thanks to your support, we were able to pay for Sergei's mom and sister's travel to Turkey to stay with him while he is getting back on his feet.  We really appreciate your support for patients like Sergei!  It truly makes a difference between life or death for cancer patients, and we are eternally grateful. 

Little Sofia is now 3. When she was one year old, she suddenly stopped walking. After multiple evaluations, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer, and referred to a Children’s hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine. The first cycle of chemotherapy was such a shock to Sofia that she spent 10 days in ICU on a ventilator. These were terrifying days for her parents, but Sofia pulled through and responded to treatment. The response lasted only a few months, however. Sofia was hospitalized again and spent another year on chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Once the disease was taken under control, Sofia began recovery and learning to walk, run, and ride a scooter like other kids her age. Yet cancer recurred again, this time as metastases in her lungs.

After the surgery to remove them, Sofia’s parents decided to take their daughter abroad to a hospital in Turkey to make sure she is able to access modern treatment and better care. Little Sofia will get more chemotherapy followed by a transplant of her own stem cells to ensure she stays in remission.  Despite all the challenges of cancer treatment, Sofia is a happy and lively child.  Her family desperatley wants her to conquer cancer and have a normal childhood like her peers, but they need help.  Years of cancer treatment have drained them not only emotionally but also financially.  Travel, lodging and living expenses will be difficult for them to shoulder in addition to paying for cancer care.  

Our project exists to support patients like Sofia and her family, and to help them access the level of cancer care that is available to most patients in developed countries.  We really appreciate your support and so far this year we were able to help 17 other families of children with cancer.  We would love to help even more families that strive for get their kids better chances at beating cancer.  Thanks again for your continuing support!