HELP SAVE MY MOTHER'S LIFE

My name is Fatima Shaban and I raising funds to pay for my mother’s cancer medication. My mother has advanced stage uterine carcinosarcoma and her only chance is an immunotherapy drug called Keytruda. OHIP does not cover this and we have no other options. Without your support my mother will not survive. This is an emergency !  My mother is ready to start the treatment next Tuesday but won’t be able to access the drug unless we pay in advance. 

(Picture of my mom Sona Shaban with my son Amir Jacob)

Update:

Words cannot describe the gratitude we feel for all the love we have received. Thank you for all the donations and shares. As you guys already know my mother’s health is declining due to the rapid growth of her tumours. Unfortunately it may take a little longer before we are able to afford Keytruda. Parallel to accessing immunotherapy, We have also been fighting for my mom to have a surgery to remove the large tumours in her pelvis. Unfortunately in Canada surgeries are not usually done for patients with recurrent cancer due to the high likelihood of the cancer returning in the future. 

That said, we have found a surgeon in Turkey that is willing to see my mom and perhaps operate on her. Ideally the surgery would remove all evidence of disease and then she would have to follow up with more chemo. There is a chance for my mom even if it’s low, we are willing to take it. 

We have arrived to Ankara last night and will be meeting with the surgeon today. Even in the unfortunate event that my mother’s cancer will come back in the future, it will at least give us more time to fundraise for her immunotherapy. 

This trip to try to save my mother’s life has been exhausting financially, mentally and physically. 

Please keep us in your prayers. We will update you soon. 

Background

The first symptom of my mom's cancer was a single drop of blood. Since my mom has been in menopause for close to 10 years, she has decided to visit a family doctor for a check up. The doctor has take a Pap smear and ordered an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed a approximatelly 5 cm mass in her uterus. She was then sent for an MRI and a biopsy. Both suggested Uterine Carcinoma. My mother has undergone hysterectomy in July 2019. Unfortunately, after the tumour was removed from her uterus and sent for pathology, it came back as CARCINOSARCOMA which is a rare and aggressive form of uterine cancer and comprises only 2%-5% of all uterine cancers. 

After the hysterectomy my mother was staged 1A Uterine Carcinosarcoma. Unfortunately due to COVID 19 she was not allowed to bring me in with her to her appointments and therefore did not fully understand the seriousness of her diseases. 

Unfortunately, my mother's health started to deteriorate in November 2020. She got a blood clot in her calf and had light spotting. We have returned to Oncology in December unfortunately my mom was denied a CT scan and the oncologist has only taken a sample from the vagina. After examination, he told me over the phone that my mom did not have cancer and that no CT was necessary.  We were delighted by the news, however in January 2021 my mother began to experience pelvic pain. She has decided to visit an emergency room in a different hospital where they did a CT and found two tumours in her pelvis which meant that the cancer has recurred. 

My mother has completed  Chemotherapy (Carbo/Taxol) which only until she was on it. Once she completed the 6th cycle the tumours began growing more rapidly.  

There is a hope for my mom beyond chemotherapy. An immunotherapy drug called Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) has been approved to treat Endometrial Cancer. Unfortunately it is still not covered by OHIP (Ontario's Health  Care Plan). The cost of Immunotherapy is approximately $9600 CAD per infusion every 3 weeks. 

About Us

My mother and I have moved to Canada in 2008 from Slovakia. She is my only family in Canada and I am her only support system. We live together and I try to support her to the best of my abilities. Prior to getting Cancer my mom was full of joy and very healthy. She was a vegetarian for 8 years and her doctor joked that her routine blood work was similar to an 18 year old.  She was 65 when she decided to go back to high school to complete her high school diploma. Unfortunately due to her diagnosis she could not finish. I am writing this to show you that my mom never let her age define her. She was full of life, she still is.

During the time that my mom was getting diagnosed with Cancer, I gave birth to her only Grandson - Amir Jacob. It is heartbreaking to think that my mom may not be able to see him grow. They have a special bond and I hope that they get to create beautiful memories for years to come. 



My mother is a fighter, she gets up everyday, follows doctors orders and walks to stay active. She has done everything right on her part. She has tolerated chemo fairly well and would like to start another treatment as soon as possible to not give the cancer a chance to grow. 

The funds will be used to pay for my mother's treatment this includes all costs associated with current treatments and immunotherapy.