Help My Sister Fight Cancer While Expecting Our Miracle Baby

My sister Oksana is the strongest, kindest, most empathetic person I know. She’s 39 years old, full of life, and expecting our miracle girl, the baby we’ve been praying for. But a few weeks ago, at just 15 weeks pregnant, our world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with stage 2 clear cell carcinoma, a rare, metastatic, and quickly progressing cervical cancer.

The diagnosis came during what should have been one of the happiest times in our lives. My sister, her partner Eugene, her 16-year-old son Ezekiel, my 6-year-old daughter Ily, and I are absolutely elated to add one more to our small family. But instead of planning a baby shower, we are now facing a battle for both my sister Oksana’s life and the life of her unborn child.

Her cancer was found due to frequent visits to her gynecologist when she found out she was expecting, meaning her baby may have saved her life because without her, we may not have found the cancer at all. Her doctors are now carefully balancing treatment with protecting her pregnancy and allowing us to welcome a happy, healthy little girl into this world. One who gets to have her mommy there for her throughout her life.

My sister is starting the second of 4 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy this week. In 11 weeks, she will be having a scheduled c-section while simultaneously undergoing a radical hysterectomy. Her doctors will work together to decide the next steps for treatment after the baby is born. As long as the cancer hasn’t metastasized, we are expecting that to include another 5 rounds of chemotherapy and an unknown amount of radiation. Every day brings difficult decisions, exhausting appointments, and mounting medical bills.

Through all of this, my sister has shown incredible courage, positivity, and even shown sympathy towards us for having to undergo another cancer battle within the family. We lost our mother to breast cancer in 2014, it was a traumatic time for all of us. Even so, she’s determined to beat this—to be there for her baby’s first steps, first words, first everything, because this baby deserves a loving mom. But she can’t do it alone.

Cancer treatment is expensive, and so is bringing a baby into the world—especially when you’re fighting for your life. We’re raising funds to help cover the cost of chemo, radiation, surgery, medical supplies, hospital stays, transportation, and lost income. I just moved 3 hours away, so I will be making biweekly road trips to both be there for her chemo sessions and help her with what she needs when she is facing the pain and exhaustion that chemotherapy will bring, compounded with her high-risk pregnancy. Because on top of all that she is facing, we were told that she has placenta previa, meaning her placenta is low-lying, a condition that usually resolves itself but carries a high risk of bleeding during birth.

Our warrior baby is doing fantastic right now and is expected to make her arrival mid-October. We just want to keep life as “normal” as possible for my sissy-poo as she navigates treatment and is a new mother for the first time in 16 years.

If you can give, any amount helps. If you can’t, please consider sharing her story or sending a message of support. We can use all the prayers and good positive energy that we can get right now. Your kindness means more than you know.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.