Funds for chemotherapy for Guatemalan kids

As some of you know, my son Brayden was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 2. He went through a very extensive treatment, including 10 chemotherapies, and a 5 hour surgery to remove the tumor in his liver. All of this free of cost. Thanks to AYUVI and their incredible foundation that helps the children of Guatemala with cancer. 


Because of Covid-19, funds for the UNOP hospital have been extremely low. The hospital has had to let go of over 150 employees, trying to make sure no child goes without their treatment. The reality is hard to imagine. AYUVI doesn't want to have to turn a single child away from receiving the life saving treatment they need. There is only one hospital in Guatemala that is dedicated to pediatric cancer. The hospital attends 150 patients a day. And on average there are  42 new cases a month. Without AYUVI and it's donors, these children will have no where to go to get their treatment. 

Here is a little more info about AYUVI and what they do!

Desde sus inicios, en 1997, Fundación AYUVI se ha dedicado a recaudar fondos para brindar un tratamiento integral sin costo a los niños que desarrollan cáncer en Guatemala. Lo más importante para nosotros en AYUVI son los pacientes. (Since it's beginning in 1997, the foundation AYUVI has dedicated itself to raise funds to give a completely free treatment to children with cancer in Guatemala. The most important thing to us are the patients.)

En un país como Guatemala, el diagnóstico del cáncer viene acompañado de muchas preocupaciones. Y es que la mayoría de familias que se ven afectadas son de escasos recursos y muchas veces de zonas alejadas del país. (In a country like Guatemala, a cancer diagnosis comes with many many worries. And most of the families affected are already struggling financially, and live very far away.) 

Para estas familias, el tratamiento no es lo único a tener en mente, sino todo lo que este trae con él. Largos viajes de madrugada, noches interminables sin dormir, familias que deben separarse por semanas o padres que deben dejar su trabajo, son solo algunos ejemplos de esta dura realidad. (For these families, the treatment the child will go through isn't the only thing on their mind. Long trips starting before the sun comes up, long nights with little to no sleep, families that have to be separated for weeks, parents who have to leave their jobs...these are just a few examples of the struggles they face.) 

El cáncer pediátrico ya no es sinónimo de muerte, 7 de cada 10 niños con cáncer se salvan si se diagnostican a tiempo y reciben el tratamiento adecuado. Sin embargo, la crisis de COVID – 19 nos ha planteado una nueva realidad. Hoy más que nunca necesitamos la ayuda de todas las personas que se interesen en regalar esperanza de vida a los pacientes con cáncer pediátrico en Guatemala.
(Pediatric cancer is no longer a death sentence; 7 out of every 10 children can be saved, if they are diagnosed early on, and receive the adequate treatment. However, because of Covid-19, we have a new reality. Today more than ever we need everyone's help who can to save the children with cancer in Guatemala.) 

En Guatemala, el costo promedio de cada tratamiento es de Q450,000 ($58,000) y el tiempo para que un paciente sea declarado sobreviviente es de 8 años.
(In Guatemala the average cost of one child's treatment is Q450,000. ($58,000) and a child isn't declared a survivor until 8 years later. )

Cada quimioterapia tiene un costo promedio de Q5,000 ($641) y el paciente recibe un promedio de 2 a 3 años quimioterapias, tiempo en el que reciben al menos una o dos diariamente.
(Each chemo costs around Q5,000 ($641). The average family makes about half of this a month. The patient will receive on average 2 to 3 years of chemotherapy, most of the time one to two chemos a day.)

La mayoría de quimioterapias son tomadas, pero los primeros 5-l meses del tratamiento son intravenoso, intramuscular y las 22 intratecales que son quimioterapias directo a la médula ósea.
(Most chemos are taken orally, but the first  5 months of treatment are through an IV, through the muscle, and 22 chemos are placed directly in the bone marrow, through the spine.)

El cáncer pediátrico no se detiene, AYUVI tampoco lo hace en tiempos de coronavirus. Hoy enfrentamos un gran reto; la economía del país se vio afectada en muchos aspectos y nuestros recursos para brindar el tratamiento sin ningún costo se están viendo afectados. Necesitamos su ayuda, para seguir operando en el único centro especializado en el tratamiento del cáncer pediátrico en el país. Nuestros niños con cáncer y sus familias, agradecerán mucho su aporte que dará esperanza de vida a miles de niños Guatemaltecos.
(Pedatric cancer isn't stopping, and AYUVI isn't either, even in Covid-19 times. Today we have a huge challenge, the country's economy has been affected in every aspect, and our cost free treatments have been affected. We need your help to keep working in the only hospital specialized in pediatric cancer in the country. Our kids with cancer and their families would be eternally grateful to you giving hope to thousands of Guatemalan children!)