Support Sandra Soares and her family

I am reaching out on behalf of my beloved sister, Sandra Soares, a brave warrior who earlier this year, at the young age of just 42, was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of Stage 4 colon cancer. Those who know Sandra are already aware of her selflessnature and know that she is not one to ever ask for assistance,instead, she always looks to help others. But now, more than ever, I know she really needs our collective support.

For those that don’t know me, I’m Sandra’s younger and only sister, Sonia. Since I was little, I’ve always looked up to her. She was the one who seemed to do everything right. We have always been there for each other, and I don’t know what I would do without her in my life.

Unfortunately, Sandra’s cancer had already spread to the liver, spleen, and peritoneum before it was discovered. The extent of the spread meant that the possibility for radiation and surgery were off the table, and the specific mutations of the tumors meant that further typical treatments options were not promising. Instead, her only path to fight has been difficult bi-weekly regiments of chemo in the hopes of minimizing the growth while simultaneously looking for phase 1 clinical trials. The fight has not been easy: the chemo is rough, the pain of the cancer has caused physical suffering, and the emotional toll and tears have been devastating on Sandra and her family. She has been hospitalized multiple times for the excruciating pain, had to have 6 pounds of fluids drained from the abdomen at one point, and now more recently fluids drained from her lungs. She has experienced neuropathy, hair loss, weight loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and sadly, too many days of overall helplessness. Despite this, Sandra's resilience has continued to shine through her battle, but the financial strain on her family has been immense.

Sandra is trying to keep her spirits high, especially for her two boys(17 & 13) who are also seeing their once indestructible mom deteriorate before their eyes. She is desperately trying to balance focusing on her own health while also being there for the boys to keep them feeling a sense of normalcy. She puts her boys first in everything, and while she would love to create more memories with them, she feels guilty about spending money knowing the financial burden she will be leaving on the family.

We all have dreams. For some it might be to win the lottery, for others it’s to see our kids grow, see future grandkids and future milestones. For Sandra, her most recently articulated dream is to just“live 5 more years,” so that she may see her youngest graduate high school and perhaps her oldest meet the love of his life. Sadly, that’s how bad things are now—that the only dream and prayer she can come up with is to ask God for just “5 more years.”

Sandra has been unable to work due to the debilitating effects of the chemo treatments, pain caused by the growth of the tumors, and multiple hospitalizations. Prior to this news, Sandra has been one of the hardest working people I know and has never stopped working for the past 27+ years, since she was a teenager. At the same time, she has raised a beautiful family and has been more than a sister to me, she has been my best friend. We have spoken every morning throughout our adulthood on our commutes to work. Now, many of those calls, which were once upbeat, sharing stories of our day-to-day lives and children, are replaced with tears or silence, as sheoften doesn’t have the energy to talk. Her devoted husband, Rui, has been putting in more hours than ever at work while simultaneously ensuring that he supports Sandra and the kids. However, there are just more bills piling up than there is money coming in.

For those who are able to support with their generosity, please know that every dollar raised will help ease the financial burden of her new reality as she faces the greatest battle of her life. For those who may not be able to support financially, please know that even just your love and outreach has been instrumental in her ability to find that positive strength and energy to continuing fighting this battle.

Together with lots of prayer and the emotional and financial support from so many of you—her friends, family, and community—we hope we can find a way to boost her spirits and free her from the financial burden she feels in addition to the suffering she is experiencing.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for showing your support to Sandra in any way you can, and we pray that we will be able to share positive updates in the future.

Gratefully yours,

Sonia Viera Singhbaba