A week ago I had the most disturbing phone conversation a child can ever have with a parent. I cheerfully picked up my mother's call only to find out that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. To make matters worse, I also learned that the cancer was not early-stage, that her doctor had said her tumor was inoperable, and that she has about 3 years left to live (that is if she is lucky and goes through multiple chemotherapy treatments). I have no recollection of what happened in the next 10 minutes - I didn't hear what my mother was saying; I didn't hear what was happening around me; I was in complete shock, denial and disbelief. Everything was a blur, and suddenly, everything else seemed so insignificant. “3 years…if I’m lucky…”, the words kept replaying in my head like a broken record. When I finally came to my senses, I heard my mom ask me to take care of my younger sister if anything happened to her. For some background, my younger sister is 14 years old (still a child!). Her and my mother live across the world in Russia, while I live in Canada. My parents are divorced, so she does not have a spouse who can support her or my sister. As a result, my mother is my sister’s only true guardian, and there would not be anyone to take care of her if anything were to happen.

Since the doctors in Russia, refused to operate essentially giving up on my mom’s life, we had to look for other options. We analyzed numerous possibilities for my mother’s cancer treatment. Treatment in other European countries was very expensive. For treatment in Canada or US, a visa would be required (something that is very hard to attain for Russian citizens currently) and the cost of treatment and operation would still be extremely expensive.

After a week of sleepless nights, emails and phone calls to various clinics in several different countries, and the help of close friends and extended family, we were able to find a hospital that could provide a cancer treatment plan in Israel (Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, under the supervision of Dr. Beatrice Uziely). With all the logistics figured out, the remaining caveat was the price. Treatment in Israel will still come out to USD70,000 (about CAD100,000) at a minimum if there are no complications. The treatment will include biopsies, mammograms, required tests and surgeries, as well as chemotherapy treatments and medicine. Unfortunately, the price tag has a lot more zeros than I could ever have imagined.
 
At this point, I have come to terms with the fact that I will need to put my law school degree on hold indefinitely. Being on a completely different continent does not help, since I cannot be there to reassure my mother and sister in person or give them both a much-needed hug. However, what I can do is help raise as much funds as I can to help cover the cost of her treatment. If you feel compelled to make a donation or to spread the word, I would be eternally grateful. If not, I completely understand, I’m nothing but a stranger to you after all. Thank you for taking the time to read this, sending your prayers and helping to save my mother’s life by donating to this campaign!


Sincerely,

Daria