I'm starting a GoFundMe for my friend Alandra, who I met in Indonesia through a summer school while I was at university. At the time, she was one of the ambassadors of Airlangga University in Surabaya, welcoming international students and making us feel at home. Her kindness, generosity and genuine spirit led us to build a close and lasting friendship, one I continue to value and appreciate no matter the distance and time apart.
She dreamt to join us in the UK, pursuing her Master's degree here with outstanding academic results during her bachelor degree. However, life gave her a surprise.
In July 2025, Alandra received news that she had been diagnosed with a rare tumour in her breast. Her mammography results showed a BI-RADS 4A classification, meaning a tumour carried a suspicious abnormality that required urgent follow up. Her biopsy then confirmed Paget’s disease of the breast, a rare condition that causes tumour growth in the breast tissue and skin, which is a form of breast cancer.
Her doctors recommend urgent surgery to remove this tissue. While the cancer is currently “in situ” (not yet spread), if it's not removed, the pain, bleeding, and risk of further complications will only continue.
Her father works tirelessly just to put food on the table, and her mother, who suffers from diabetes, can no longer work. Through it all, Alandra hasn’t given up; she is working full time and paying for her own tuition at university while continuing to provide for her family.
Before all of this, she earned two incredible scholarships that showed her academic achievement. One in Amsterdam for an HIV Youth Program and one in Austin, Texas, for a semester abroad. She proved to everyone that she has the talent, dedication, and heart to reach her dreams.
Because of her illness, Alandra’s daily life has been filled with pain and uncertainty. The tumour continues to affect her as she cannot work for long hours without physical and emotional discomfort.
The Vacuum-Assisted Excision surgery itself costs around £7,200 at her local hospital, excluding doctors’ fees, recovery care, and post-treatment expenses. For someone who has worked so hard just to keep her family afloat, everything could cost her up to £13,000, which is an impossible number for her to gather alone.
She has already tried to find solutions on her own. Applying to 12 different banks in her country, asking for options, but as a self-employed freelancer, she was turned away every time, despite her stable income. Wages are much lower in Indonesia compared to the UK, where the average salary is around £250 per month. Despite working for 12 hours every day, she's still unable to afford to support her family, herself, and the cost of the surgery.
That’s why I am here, asking for you to join me in helping her.
If you're able to contribute, your donation will help cover the surgery to remove the tumour from her body, supporting her with post-treatment and recovery expenses, and providing necessities so she can live healthily while healing. Every donation, no matter how small, brings her closer to recovery. Even if you’re not in a position to give, simply sharing this page with your friends and everyone else means the world.
Thank you for reading, and for standing by her in this fight. With your support, Alandra can heal, recover, and one day walk proudly into the future she’s been working so hard for.