Our cousin Tuli was a 38-year-old mother to her 10-year-old daughter, a devoted wife, a best friend to her sister, and the eldest daughter to her aging parents. One day at the beginning of 2020, she felt something in her lower abdomen and went to the Chittagong Medical College to get some answers. By late January, imaging showed a pelvic mass suspicious for cancer.

Two weeks later she had surgery in Chittagong where she had her uterus and ovaries removed and in February 2020 she received the formal diagnosis of ovarian cancer. She cried for herself, her husband, her parents, her young sister, for her other loved ones. She cried for what this means for her middle-class family's finances. But most of all she cried for her daughter. Who would raise her, a ten-year-old whose world revolves around Ma? It was then that she decided that she would fight every day to be with her daughter.

After recovering from her surgery in 2020, she received another round of bad news: it didn't get rid of the cancer; it had spread to her abdomen. To remove it now, she would need a surgery that could not be done in Bangladesh and could only be done in a few specialized centers in India. The price tag for this surgery and other treatments was about 30 lakh Bangladeshi Taka (~$30,000 USD) and her family had already spent a large amount of their life savings on the first surgery in 2020. In Bangladesh, there is no health insurance available, and all medical costs come out of patient’s own pockets. Before she could get admitted into the Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India for her lifesaving surgery, she would need to have the full payment available.

She thought about her daughter and swallowed her pride to ask for help. Her family and friends pitched in with whatever they could. She used the rest of her savings but only had about 10 lakhs Bangladeshi Taka (~$10,000 USD), but with help from family and friends, was able to raise the 30 lakhs needed to go to Chennai, India for this surgery.

In late 2021, after almost two years, she gathered the funds necessary and arrived in India for the surgery. The surgeons had to cut out parts of the abdomen, from the diaphragm to the colon and the many lymph node the cancer had spread to. They had to put heated chemotherapy directly inside her abdomen to fully kill off the cancer. The recovery process was long. She was in the Hospital for over two weeks, but with her daughter and family by her side, she pulled through. She then started chemotherapy which continued through early 2023.

She had been doing well since that surgery and enjoying each day with her daughter and loved ones, with the knowledge that the cancer will one day rear its ugly head again. After PET scans started coming back negative, hope kept growing with each scan that the next one will also be negative. Her prayers to God have been to see her daughter grow into an adult and she was starting to think that her prayers would come true. However, after almost two relatively good years, a surveillance PET scan in October of 2023 gave her the news that she had been dreading. There was a lymph node that was lit up by the diaphragm. The cancer had returned.

In Feb 2024, she went back to Chennai to see her medical oncologist who started her on an oral treatment (Etoposide) for recurrent metastatic ovarian cancer. However, three months later she went back to Chennai in May 2024 for repeat PET scan and it showed ongoing progression and this time she was switched to IV chemotherapy (Doxorubicin followed by Pazopanib). She was able to get the prescription for her chemotherapy so that she could get the treatment in Chittagong. She then went back to Chennai for a check-up about a year later in April 2025 and it showed shrinking cancer in the areas previously treated but a few small areas with new cancers. This time she required radiation to treat to those specific areas.

The February 2024 visit cost her close to 2 Lakhs Bangladeshi Taka (~ $2000 USD). In May 2024, the cost was close to 5 Lakhs Bangladeshi Taka (~$5000 USD). In April 2025, the cost was close to 8 lakhs Bangladeshi Taka (~$8000 USD). This is on top of the cost for the regular check-ups in Chittagong.

Update: Tuli is now 43 years old. Her daughter, Manaswita, is now 15. Tuli still wants to fight for her original goal: to be able to see Manaswita grow up to be an adult. However, family and friends have exhausted their ability to sustain her treatment and now she is turning to the public to ask for help. We don’t know how much she will need in the future, but we know that she will keep needing large amounts of money to go back to Chennai for ongoing treatment. She has another check-up coming in 6 months, around November 2025. Will you help her continue this fight?

No amount is too little, and every dollar helps.

This fundraiser will help with travel from Chittagong to Chennai, her entire hospital/surgical/medical/radiation bill there, help with travel of her family member who will go with her, and help with ongoing cares with local doctors in Chittagong once she comes back.

Thank you to everyone who has donated personally and to those who will donate. We will keep this page updated with information.

Disclaimer: As the organizer of this event and a U.S. citizen, I will be receiving the funds in USD and wiring them directly to my cousin in Bangladesh (Bangladeshi taka) for her medical care. 100% of funds will be used for her treatment with the exception of any fees charged by Gofundme and wire transfer fees.