My name is Arleth Meléndez, and I want to share our story.

My son, Amir Ian Lara, 16 years old, began in 2024 with frequent colds, throat infections, and nosebleeds. Doctors thought it was sinusitis, but my instinct told me otherwise. I took him to a specialist, and we discovered he had a tumor in his nasal cavities. It grew so quickly that it blocked both nostrils, and Amir had to breathe only through his mouth for almost a month until he finally had surgery in April.

We thought the worst was over, but the pathology results devastated us: it was an Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive cancer that had already spread to his right lung. Amir is currently receiving chemotherapy every 15 days.

During all of this, I also started experiencing symptoms, and we later discovered I had a brain tumor in the right frontal lobe. In June, I underwent surgery, and most of the tumor was removed, but now I must begin radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

As if this were not enough, in May both my husband and I lost our jobs. Today, our family is facing a very difficult battle: two cancer diagnoses at the same time, with all the emotional, physical, and financial challenges this brings.

We are asking for your help so we can continue Amir’s treatment and mine, and to keep our hope alive. We trust in God, in the kindness of people, and in the belief that together we can overcome this journey.

Any support, no matter how small, means the world to us.