<div>Hello, 
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<div>My name is Sara, and I’m setting up this fundraiser on behalf of my lovely aunt, Mehrnaz, to help her access urgent cancer treatment.
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<div>We are raising funds for a treatment called Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan), which her oncology team at The Royal Marsden has recommended as the most appropriate treatment option currently available to her following a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer.
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<div>Our goal is to raise £55,000, which we hope will cover approximately six cycles of treatment and provide a bridge while other treatment options are explored with her oncology team, alongside contingency costs, consultant fees not included in the hospital estimate, and some psycho-oncology support to help Mehrnaz cope with the emotional impact of living with advanced cancer.
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<div>The NHS will continue to support her care through scans, monitoring, blood tests, treatment administration, and clinical oversight. The funds raised will be used specifically for the privately funded aspects of her treatment and support.
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<div><strong><em>Mehrnaz's Story</em></strong>
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<div>My name is Mehrnaz.
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<div>I was 37 years old when I heard the words that changed my life forever:
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<div>“You have cancer.”
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<div>At that moment, my daughter was only eighteen months old. She was still a baby, still learning to speak, still reaching for my hand, still needing her mother for everything.
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<div>I had barely begun to enjoy the beautiful journey of motherhood when suddenly my world became filled with fear, hospital appointments, treatments, and uncertainty.
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<div>I remember looking at my little girl and wondering how something so frightening could happen when our story had only just begun.
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<div>Cancer was something I had only seen in movies and heard about in heartbreaking stories. It was the monster that took people away from the ones they loved. The monster that left dreams unfinished and families broken.
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<div>I never imagined that one day I would have to face that monster myself.
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<div>But I did.
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<div>And for years, I have fought with everything I had.
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<div>While other mothers were making memories at playgrounds, birthday parties, and family trips, so many of my days were spent in hospitals, treatment rooms, and waiting areas.
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<div>Sometimes I feel as though cancer stole years from us.
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<div>I look at my daughter now, and somehow that tiny baby is ten years old. I don’t know where the time went.
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<div>What I do know is that every single day with her has been worth fighting for.
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<div>Today, I am facing another battle.
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<div>The cancer has returned and spread, and once again I find myself standing in front of the same monster.
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<div>But this time, I am not fighting for a future I hope to have someday.
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<div>I am fighting for moments.
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<div>For the chance to watch my daughter grow up a little longer.
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<div>For more birthdays.
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<div>For more hugs.
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<div>For more laughter around the dinner table.
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<div>For more bedtime conversations.
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<div>For more opportunities to tell her how proud I am of her.
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<div>I want to be there when she needs a shoulder to cry on. I want to hold her hand through life’s challenges. I want her to know that no matter what happens, her mother never stopped fighting to stay by her side.
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<div>The treatment that could help me continue this fight is far beyond what I can afford alone.
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<div>Asking for help is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
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<div>I have always been the person who wanted to help others, not the person asking for help.
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<div>Yet today, I am humbly reaching out and asking for your support.
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<div>Every donation, every share, every kind word gives me something priceless: hope.
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<div>Hope for more time. 
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<div>Hope for more memories. 
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<div>Hope for more life.
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<div>From the deepest place in my heart, thank you for taking the time to read my story and for standing beside me in this fight.
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<div>Thank you for helping a mother hold on to the beautiful life she is fighting so hard to keep.
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<div>The treatment I now need, Enhertu, has been recommended by my medical team as the most appropriate option for me and may help extend my life.
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<div><strong><em>Medical Summary</em></strong>
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<div>For those who would like more information, Mehrnaz has been living with breast cancer since 2017 and has undergone multiple treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted treatments.
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<div>Her cancer is:
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<div>* Metastatic breast cancer
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<div>* ER positive / PR negative
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<div>* HER2-low (IHC 2+)
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<div>* ESR1 and PIK3CA mutations identified
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<div>* Multiple areas of disease progression over time
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<div>Despite extensive treatment over many years, her cancer has continued to progress, and Enhertu has now been recommended by her oncology team as the most suitable next treatment option.
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<div><strong><em>Treatment and Funding</em></strong>
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<div>The Royal Marsden has provided an estimated cost of approximately £8,719 per treatment cycle, with treatment administered every 21 days under an Additional Private Care arrangement.
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<div>Under this arrangement, Mehrnaz remains an NHS patient and continues to receive NHS care. The privately funded portion relates to the treatment itself and associated costs.
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<div>The NHS will continue to provide:
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<div>* scans and imaging
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<div>* blood tests and monitoring
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<div>* treatment administration
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<div>* clinical oversight and ongoing care
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<div>We are incredibly grateful for this support.
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<div>Our fundraising goal of £55,000 is intended to cover approximately six cycles of Enhertu treatment and provide a bridge while other treatment options are explored with her oncology team, together with contingency costs and emotional support services.
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<div>We fully understand that Enhertu is an ongoing treatment and that privately funding it indefinitely is not realistic for our family.
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<div>Our immediate goal is to give Mehrnaz access to treatment now while she and her medical team continue to explore other options and future treatments that may become available through the NHS.
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<div>If, during this fundraising campaign, a suitable NHS-funded treatment or another effective treatment option becomes available, we will provide a full update to everyone who has supported us.
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<div>Should funds remain that are no longer required for Mehrnaz’s treatment, we will handle them transparently and in accordance with GoFundMe’s policies, with the intention of either returning unused funds where possible or helping another patient facing a similar situation.
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<div><strong><em>A Message From Me</em></strong>
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<div>Although Mehrnaz is my aunt, she is only three years older than me.
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<div>We grew up together and are more like sisters than aunt and niece.
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<div>I want her to live for as long as possible. Knowing this treatment may give us more time together, I cannot sit back and do nothing.
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<div>Watching someone you love fight cancer for years is incredibly painful.
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<div>I have seen Mehrnaz’s strength, courage, and determination through every difficult stage of this journey.
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<div>Asking for help is not something our family ever imagined we would have to do, but today we are reaching out because we want to give Mehrnaz every possible chance to continue her treatment.
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<div>We are not asking for a cure.
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<div>We are asking for more time.
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<div>More time for a mother and daughter to make memories together.
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<div>More time for birthdays.
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<div>More time for conversations.
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<div>More time for life.
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<div>Every donation, no matter the size, brings Mehrnaz closer to continuing treatment.
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<div>Every share helps us reach people we would never reach on our own.
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<div>From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading our story, for sharing it, and for supporting us during one of the hardest chapters of our lives.
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<div>Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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<div>Sara
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Tara Tabatabaie

Anonymous

Azar Ansari

christopher evans

Yasaman Nemat bakhsh

Mahnaz Nikpour

Ana Amirzadeh

Fran Kuzmanovic

aynaz lotfata

Bahareh Nazari

Adam Ford

Help Fund Life-Extending Cancer Treatment for Mehrnaz 

Help Fund Life-Extending Cancer Treatment for Mehrnaz

Still £33,800 to go. Help us build momentum.