I’m raising funds for Dr Ava Kanyeredzi, a Black British feminist academic and Digital Education Lead at Queen Mary University of London. Her work has made a lasting contribution to how we understand the experiences of Black British women in relation to violence, faith, and identity. And now she needs our help.

Working at the intersections

Ava’s book Race, Culture and Gender: Black Female Experiences of Violence and Abuse remains a key text for many of us working at the intersections of feminism, race, and mental health. Her research on the response of Black majority churches to domestic violence has been pivotal in opening up new pathways to support for African-Caribbean heritage women.

You can watch one of her lectures on identity, faith, and domestic violence, and read more about her findings on domestic abuse and Black churches to understand more about her work to date.

I had the privilege of studying with Ava during my PhD, and I’ve seen how deeply she’s shaped conversations around violence against racially minoritised women and girls, including in spaces where it is commonly overlooked. When Ava started her work in this area it was a wilderness and she has helped plant trees. Her contribution already has been so great and I was excited to see what was going to come.

A Sudden Diagnosis

In August 2021, Ava was admitted to hospital for what was expected to be a straightforward fibroid removal. Instead, she woke up disoriented, in a high-dependency unit, having undergone a blood transfusion. Her gynaecologist had seen something unusual during surgery.

She was later diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of uterine cancer.

Ava has said her first response was fear: who will mother my daughter? Her second response was to draw on her faith, calling a few friends who prayed with/for her and then staying up listening on repeat to ‘can’t give up now' by Mary-Mary. In the face of an uncertain future, Ava leaned on her faith, family and community. Now, she’s asking for our help.

Continuing the Fight

After being told her condition was palliative, Ava didn’t give up. She researched treatment options, connected with specialists outside the NHS, and joined the Care Oncology Clinic to access off-label medications designed to slow cancer growth. She made significant dietary changes and began using complementary approaches supported by emerging research and survivor networks.

In late 2021, she received 12 sessions of radiotherapy. By May 2022, scans showed no active disease. Though the treatments had come at considerable emotional and financial cost, we thought she was in the clear.

Setbacks and Limited Options

In 2023, the cancer returned.

One tumour began pressing against her kidney. Ava reluctantly started chemotherapy, knowing her body might struggle with it. Several drug regimens were tried, including one promising clinical trial that was later withdrawn from the UK due to funding cuts.

One tumour pushed its way from her pelvis to her vaginal wall and became a malignant wound, requiring emergency care. The chemo she was being given (Eribulin) had a worse effect on the existing nodules, some growing in centimetres. Radiotherapy helped, but the side effects — including suspected sepsis and lymphoedema — were severe. Ava, who was always running during our PhD and had one of the fittiest, happiest bodies I know, said she had never experienced so much pain. Ultimately none of it worked.

In 2024, the Royal Marsden officially discharged Ava on the basis of treatment failure. She had reached the end of what the NHS could offer.

Why Ava Needs Our Support

Despite everything, Ava has continued working — teaching, mentoring, and supporting students online. She remains committed to expanding access to education and improving how mental health is understood and delivered in culturally informed ways. She wants to continue her work on the intersections of violence against African and Caribbean heritage women and faith, and to be there when her wonderful daughter turns eighteen.

To do this she needs access to treatments that fall outside the NHS — including targeted therapies, immunotherapy, integrative care, and specialist diagnostics. These approaches won’t be curative, but they offer the potential to slow the disease’s progression, manage symptoms, and improve quality of life. They give Ava a fighting chance to be here with us, and her family, longer.

What Your Donation Will Support

As the NHS will no longer provide any treatment, Ava has to go private. She has researched various options and found that there is strong evidence a DATAR exacta test can help to describe the genetic profile of her tumours and determine the exact drugs/supplements that will work to shrink and eradicate them.

The test itself is £3,600. Based on the test, Ava may need to explore Transarterial Chemoembolization (roughly £15,000) and/or targeted immunotherapy/targeted genetic therapy, intratumoural immunotherapy and cryoablation (which could be upwards of £50,000).

Ava's family and Ava herself are contributing as much as they can towards her treatment and have already got her close to being able to afford the test. We are now reaching out to friends and our broader communities to help her be able to fund whatever treatment it suggests will work.

Let’s Support Ava

We know that health outcomes for Black African and Black Caribbean women are worse than those of any other group. Intersections of racism, and the effects of systemic social and economic inequality mean that women like Ava are at the sharp end of a system that doesn't support everyone equally.

Ava has spent her academic life battling against this inequality and what it means for Black women who are survivors of violence, amplifying the voices of women who are too often unheard — and she’s done so with clarity, care, and courage. She is the best kind of teacher and mother and thinker. She is a kind and generous friend. This isn't a lot to be able to do but it's an opportunity to do something.

If you’re able to contribute, no matter the amount, it will go directly towards helping Ava access the care she needs. It's about more than money really, it's showing our support. And letting Ava know that in the dark, the light she's given will come back to hold her.

Thank you for your time in reading all this, your solidarity, and your support, and please consider sharing this as far and wide as you can.

With love,

Fiona