Help Cristina with her breast cancer treatment.

My name is Isabel Cristina Henriquez, Dominican, 45 years old. Christian religion. I am married and I am a mother of 6 children, the oldest is 30 years old and the youngest is 16.

I have always been a very responsible woman with my health, and I had my annual medical checkups that correspond to each women, such has Papanicolau (Pap test) and mammograms at the Bournigal Medical Center in Puerto Plata, Dom. Rep. With Dr. Carmen Cid and everything was always fine. My medical situation changed on March 16, 2021, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer (infiltrating ductal carcinoma grade 2). Everything in my life definitely changed, the world came over us, since at that time the company where I worked for 18 years had just closed, and I was unemployment.

None of my family members were ever diagnosed with any type of cancer in the past, which means that my cancer is not hereditary. The company where I worked was an electric power generator, and many people have commented that possibly something in that company could have contributed to the appearance of my problem, since that same year another woman who worked with me in the same place was diagnosed with breast cancer as well.

Being unemployed also lead to automatically losng my insurance as well. My family and friends tried to help me by doing their best to get me health insurance from the government (SENASA), but they did not accept me because my cancer problem already existed. It was impossible for me to get a doctor that can provide me with medical assistance without insurance.

When a person is diagnosed with cancer, the first thing they think of is death, it is a feeling that even if you want to, you cannot get it out of your mind. At that moment, when I was diagnosed I started to cry in the middle of the doctor’s office, my mind was blocked, and I couldn’t even talk. After we were all able to digest the news, we then proceeded to find a solution to the problem, following the instructions of Dr. A. Perez Enguren from the Bournigal Medical Center in Puerto Plata, Dom. Rep.

My doctors first indication was to proceed to the mastectomy, and I went into surgery. It was very difficult for me to get used to looking at my mutilated body.

After the surgery, I went for many medical test that were very expensive, and those tests indicated to start the next step, chemotherapies. Honestly, I had an enormous fear, I was terrified of all those chemotherapy sessions I must take. Since many people had told me their experiences regarding them. I was prescribed with 6 chemotherapies, each One with a cost of $12,000. My dear readers, you can imagine how me and my family felt when we were told about the price.

My family and I are low-income. My husband is a Farmer which at that time he had 61 cows, he sold 30 to at least start with the first chemotherapy. My daughters made for clothes on instagram, they looked for loans and we sold more belongings to be able to complete the money. Some close friends and family gave us their help as well.

I was transferred to the Corominas Clinic in Santiago, where Dr. Julio Wood was in charge my chemotherapies. At that time, we had to make several trips to Santiago city that took 2 hours each way every 21 days to receive the treatment.

Sometimes I had to go every week to the same place for tests. At the end of the chemotherapy’s treatments I no longer had any hair, everything had fallen out. Yet another change in me that I had to face and get used to.

After each treatment was completed, I suffered from side effects for several days like nausea, vomiting, dizziness, a burning sensation in my body, and diarrhea. Finishing each chemo became a real challenge for me. I was on a strict diet where doctors forbade me to eat fatty or raw foods, well-boiled vegetables, well-washed fruits, etc.

On october 11, 2021 it was my “last chemotherapy”, I had already completed the 6 that had been prescribed to me. We, as a family were calmer thinking that we would no longer need to took for so much money like that, but nothing was as we thought. After finishing the chemotherapy, I was recomended for further studies and examinations to see if everything was fine or not, to my bad luck, the cancer still continues to appear.

On monday, November 15, at the Corominas Clinic in Santiago, my doctor told me that now I need 28 sessions of radiotherapy, (IT’s TOO MUCH)!!!! When looking at that amount, we decided to seek a second opinion from Dr. Enguren of the Bournigal Medical Center in Puerto Plata, Rep Dom., Which coincides with the previous recomendations.

I currently need 28 radioterapies to star them as soon as possible.

Each radioterapies is priced at US $3,000 each, and it is for that reason that we have found ourselves in the need to seek help, we can no longer do ir by ourselves.

From the begaimning of my problem we have been requesting help from the goverment in different parts of my country, but nothing happens, we never receive answers from anyone and that is one of the reasons why we feel alone in this problem. As I said before, my husband is a farmer and has already sold more than half of the cows, we no longer have that many and with the 17 cows that remain, we support ourselves, with food, household bills and so on…. With those cows we can survive. In my country, cows have a very cheap price. When selling, you don’t much money for them.

You may wonder that if we have money saved, the answer is NO. The salary in the Dominican Republic is very low. Enough only to support day and there is no money left to save unfortunately.

Please help me win the battle against cancer, help me get money for may 28 radiotherapy sections, since their cost is $3,000 each.

We found a transportation company, (JAVILLA TOURS), that would provide free trips to Santiago for me to receive my treaments… and thank God transportation is not a concern for me.

Thank you very much and God bless you all.

Isabel Cristina Henríquez.