Help Bijal BEAT Cancer AGAIN! Fund
Donation protected
Our names are Chetan and Bijal Patel and our story starts on November 16th, 2005 with a first date that led me to my soul-mate, my best friend, and ultimately, my loving wife. Like many young couples in love, we were looking forward to expanding our family with children, traveling the world, and growing old together, but shortly after our honeymoon, the unimaginable happened and our lives were turned upside down...
All our dreams were unfairly taken from us in May 2008 when Bijal received the devastating and unexpected diagnosis of Stage 2 Breast Cancer at the young age of 27. With no family history of any cancer, this news was quite shocking to everyone. She was told her cancer was one of the most aggressive and fast moving types of breast cancer but treatable as we had caught it at a fairly early stage. Through 6 months of intense, painful, and scarring chemotherapy, 6 weeks of skin burning radiation, and a painful partial removal of her left breast and lymph nodes, and a 3 day stay in the hospital due to extreme dehydration, weakness and low white blood cells, she fought her way back and kicked cancer's butt for the 1st time. Despite the many emotions that come with being diagnosed young, and with the encouragement from friends and family, Bijal's strength & positivity NEVER wavered throughout the whole treatment and she still somehow managed to get through it with a smile on her face.
From 2008-2010, Bijal fought this incurable disease continuously with daily medications, IV treatments and a phenomenal will to survive. Despite keeping up with yearly breast MRI'S that were always clear, sadly, in December 2012 she started to experience excruciating pain in her back and legs, and after a battery of tests, Bijal was rediagnosed in April 2013 with Incurable Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer that had spread to her bones, liver and spine. This re-diagnosis was especially devastating as we had thought we finally had control of this deadly illness. With the new diagnosis Bijal saw all her dreams of the future, including motherhood slip away... Through all the pain, anger, frustration and feelings of emptiness with the new diagnosis, Bijal somehow still managed to pick herself up and inspire all those around her and fought once again like the champion that she is and kicked cancer's butt for the 2nd time. She underwent 2 more years of monthly chemotherapy, and with faith, hope, courage, and positivity, she managed to keep her cancer from spreading further. Bijal and I were trying to live as 'normal' of a life as we could under the given circumstances, however, that period in our life was short-lived.
If life couldn't be anymore cruel and unfair, in July 2015, routine scans showed the cancer had metastasized to her brain as well as new areas in her bones. A brain MRI revealed 5 tumors in her right cerebellum. Fearful at first, she has already completed 5 treatments of brain radiation at the Mayo Clinic and she has handled it like a true warrior. She will also need to change systemic treatment as her previous meds are no longer working.
(Bij ringing the goodluck bell after brain radiation treatments/ Mayo Clinic Arizona/August 4, 2015.)
Lumbar Puncture Procedure/ University of Chicago Medical Center for Advanced Medicine/ 8/12/15
Despite all that she has been through, Bijal always wants to be the strongest person in the room through all her hardships even though she is the one who has to fight this battle day-in and day-out. Since the start of the battle in 2008 she has endured numerous hospital visits, MRI'S, PETSCANS, ECHO'S, blood tests, biopsies, surgeries, treatments, injections, "scanxiety" episodes, pokes and prods. By the age of 35 she has gone through more than most people might go through in a lifetime. She has battled cancer for 8 years now. Throughout her health struggles, Bijal has been an amazing and caring wife, an incredible sister, a beautiful daughter, a loving aunt, a wonderful niece and cousin, and a remarkable friend to many people. Not only is she the strongest, most courageous person I know, she is also the most selfless. Even with all of her problems she still tries to put the needs of others before her own.
To say our lives have been difficult is an understatement. But even with all the ups and downs, and in her darkest moments, she still manages to stay positive. She and I have tried our best to live life to the fullest despite all the hardships by doing things we love such as traveling, sporting events, and fun activities. Her remarkable strength and positive attitude has kept her strong throughout this nightmare. With all that's been thrown at her she still REFUSES to give up. She refuses to have cancer define her life. She still wants to do so much but does not know how much time she has left now...
Our reason for opening this support page is mainly because many of our family/friends has asked what they can do to help us. With most of them living far from us, it is physically impossible for anyone to help us in person, in our time of need. Truth is...the financial and emotional burden of dealing with all this from a young age and for so long, on top of daily normal living expenses has been quite a great stress for the both of us. So we created this page for anyone that might want to help us alleviate some of these stresses so that we can focus much more on Bijal's health and quality of life. Her cancer is fast spreading and reality is we don't know how much time she has left. We would like to spend as much time as we can enjoying the time she has left. Bijal and I have never asked for help in the past, however, with many more up-coming procedures, treatments, medication costs, and doctor visits that are due to the required changes in chemotherapy and brain radiation treatments, we are asking for everyone's prayers and donations.
We are also expecting up-coming travel costs and out-of-pocket expenses for clinical trials that are performed across the United States. I am currently working part-time to help Bijal with her medical condition. Please help us kick cancer's butt for a 3rd time.
Every little bit helps, so please donate whatever you can and most importantly pray for the most selfless, generous, caring, courageous, and gorgeous person I know, and let our love story continue on forever. With the support of family, friends, and readers of our story whose hearts have been touched, I know Bijal will continue to be a survivor! Please help spread the word to your friends and family members in support of this heroic woman! Please feel free to share this link through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email, etc. We THANK YOU all for your support in advance and please continue to check this link as Bijal's journey will be updated periodically.
May God bless everyone who reads this story and spreads the word of finding a cure for every individual affected by this deadly disease.
Forever Grateful,
-Chetan and Bijal Patel
“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”
-Stuart Scott
All our dreams were unfairly taken from us in May 2008 when Bijal received the devastating and unexpected diagnosis of Stage 2 Breast Cancer at the young age of 27. With no family history of any cancer, this news was quite shocking to everyone. She was told her cancer was one of the most aggressive and fast moving types of breast cancer but treatable as we had caught it at a fairly early stage. Through 6 months of intense, painful, and scarring chemotherapy, 6 weeks of skin burning radiation, and a painful partial removal of her left breast and lymph nodes, and a 3 day stay in the hospital due to extreme dehydration, weakness and low white blood cells, she fought her way back and kicked cancer's butt for the 1st time. Despite the many emotions that come with being diagnosed young, and with the encouragement from friends and family, Bijal's strength & positivity NEVER wavered throughout the whole treatment and she still somehow managed to get through it with a smile on her face.From 2008-2010, Bijal fought this incurable disease continuously with daily medications, IV treatments and a phenomenal will to survive. Despite keeping up with yearly breast MRI'S that were always clear, sadly, in December 2012 she started to experience excruciating pain in her back and legs, and after a battery of tests, Bijal was rediagnosed in April 2013 with Incurable Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer that had spread to her bones, liver and spine. This re-diagnosis was especially devastating as we had thought we finally had control of this deadly illness. With the new diagnosis Bijal saw all her dreams of the future, including motherhood slip away... Through all the pain, anger, frustration and feelings of emptiness with the new diagnosis, Bijal somehow still managed to pick herself up and inspire all those around her and fought once again like the champion that she is and kicked cancer's butt for the 2nd time. She underwent 2 more years of monthly chemotherapy, and with faith, hope, courage, and positivity, she managed to keep her cancer from spreading further. Bijal and I were trying to live as 'normal' of a life as we could under the given circumstances, however, that period in our life was short-lived.If life couldn't be anymore cruel and unfair, in July 2015, routine scans showed the cancer had metastasized to her brain as well as new areas in her bones. A brain MRI revealed 5 tumors in her right cerebellum. Fearful at first, she has already completed 5 treatments of brain radiation at the Mayo Clinic and she has handled it like a true warrior. She will also need to change systemic treatment as her previous meds are no longer working. (Bij ringing the goodluck bell after brain radiation treatments/ Mayo Clinic Arizona/August 4, 2015.) Lumbar Puncture Procedure/ University of Chicago Medical Center for Advanced Medicine/ 8/12/15Despite all that she has been through, Bijal always wants to be the strongest person in the room through all her hardships even though she is the one who has to fight this battle day-in and day-out. Since the start of the battle in 2008 she has endured numerous hospital visits, MRI'S, PETSCANS, ECHO'S, blood tests, biopsies, surgeries, treatments, injections, "scanxiety" episodes, pokes and prods. By the age of 35 she has gone through more than most people might go through in a lifetime. She has battled cancer for 8 years now. Throughout her health struggles, Bijal has been an amazing and caring wife, an incredible sister, a beautiful daughter, a loving aunt, a wonderful niece and cousin, and a remarkable friend to many people. Not only is she the strongest, most courageous person I know, she is also the most selfless. Even with all of her problems she still tries to put the needs of others before her own. To say our lives have been difficult is an understatement. But even with all the ups and downs, and in her darkest moments, she still manages to stay positive. She and I have tried our best to live life to the fullest despite all the hardships by doing things we love such as traveling, sporting events, and fun activities. Her remarkable strength and positive attitude has kept her strong throughout this nightmare. With all that's been thrown at her she still REFUSES to give up. She refuses to have cancer define her life. She still wants to do so much but does not know how much time she has left now...
Our reason for opening this support page is mainly because many of our family/friends has asked what they can do to help us. With most of them living far from us, it is physically impossible for anyone to help us in person, in our time of need. Truth is...the financial and emotional burden of dealing with all this from a young age and for so long, on top of daily normal living expenses has been quite a great stress for the both of us. So we created this page for anyone that might want to help us alleviate some of these stresses so that we can focus much more on Bijal's health and quality of life. Her cancer is fast spreading and reality is we don't know how much time she has left. We would like to spend as much time as we can enjoying the time she has left. Bijal and I have never asked for help in the past, however, with many more up-coming procedures, treatments, medication costs, and doctor visits that are due to the required changes in chemotherapy and brain radiation treatments, we are asking for everyone's prayers and donations.
We are also expecting up-coming travel costs and out-of-pocket expenses for clinical trials that are performed across the United States. I am currently working part-time to help Bijal with her medical condition. Please help us kick cancer's butt for a 3rd time.
Every little bit helps, so please donate whatever you can and most importantly pray for the most selfless, generous, caring, courageous, and gorgeous person I know, and let our love story continue on forever. With the support of family, friends, and readers of our story whose hearts have been touched, I know Bijal will continue to be a survivor! Please help spread the word to your friends and family members in support of this heroic woman! Please feel free to share this link through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email, etc. We THANK YOU all for your support in advance and please continue to check this link as Bijal's journey will be updated periodically.
May God bless everyone who reads this story and spreads the word of finding a cure for every individual affected by this deadly disease.
Forever Grateful,
-Chetan and Bijal Patel
“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”
-Stuart Scott
Organizer
Chetan Patel
Organizer
Streamwood, IL