Rukhsana's Cancer Treatment Support Network

If you know Rukhsana, you know that a phrase she says eagerly and often is “Oh, you need help? I’m available.”

As you can imagine, for someone who lives to support and uplift her friends and family, it is very hard to make herself vulnerable and reach out to ask for help in what has been an incredibly challenging year.

In January of 2022, Rukhsana discovered a lump in her breast. After meeting with an oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). It is an aggressive form of breast cancer which differs from the type of breast cancer her mother, Eugenia, survived twice. The team of doctors at MSK scheduled her for surgery in March to remove the tumor and charted out an intense course of five months of chemotherapy followed by one month of daily radiation to ensure that the cancer cannot grow and spread. It’s amazing to say that she’s made it through the five months and today, September 28th, is her final chemo appointment. She will start daily radiation for one month beginning on October 10th.

This year has been physically, emotionally and spiritually taxing for Rukhsana. If you’ve seen her at the park or in the neighborhood, you probably thought she was just as warm, funny and adorable as ever, just without her signature mop of black curls and with a bit less energy. She’s put on a brave face while enduring the painful side effects of chemo. Her body has gone into forced rapid menopause, she has chronic bone pain from the chemo eating away her bone marrow (think growing pains but worse), constant nausea and vertigo, and extreme neuropathy that makes her hands and feet feel numb or like there are pins and needles shooting through them. On top of everything, last month Rukhsana found out that her father, Salah, was diagnosed with oral cancer. Her parents live in Argentina and she is anxious to be there to support them through his treatment when her own finally wraps up.

As soon as Rukhsana’s chemo schedule started, the side effects made it clear that continuing with her freelance schedule would be impossible. She’s incredibly grateful to have qualified for medicare that covers most of her treatment, but which leaves a large amount that she must cover on her own. The costs are overwhelming as she needs to cover all the remaining medical costs, rides to and from treatment, rent, food and all basic living costs. After treatment is finished, it can take several months and up to two years for the effects of chemo to leave her body. She will need time to heal and to get back on her feet and to feel like herself without the fear of medical debt looming over her future.

At this point, Rukhsana is reaching out to her beloved community to ask for your help in getting through this time in her life. Any little bit goes a long way in giving her some relief during the next chapter of her journey. Please share with your family and friends if you feel comfortable doing so.

Thank you so much and sending love from Rukhsana and her family.