Disease gives courage. Stage 4

"You have a month or two left to live" - in the last six years I heard this many times. There is no more hope, but I am living! And I keep on thanking God for the kind people, for the days of my life, for all the help I have received. And help is something I need constantly as the financial resources of my family have run out. Now i need to make another breakthrough – the course of chemotherapy. I hope that you can help me with that and I will make it – I have no other choice.

This trial given to me by God has lasted already for six long years. It started in 2009 – the uterine cancer diagnosis, removal surgery, oncologic registration in the clinic. It seemed like all was behind, but suddenly it became difficult to breathe. The x-ray gave another scary diagnosis – the lungs sarcoma, 4th stage! Doctors shrug and send me home to prepare to die. Relatives and friends pray for the miracle- and it happened! There was a call from Kyiv – "Come, we can make this surgery for you!" The cut out sarcoma weighted 1.5 kilos! Then, during three months i had another two surgeries- on the right lung (removal of metastasis) and on the left lung. It is very difficult, but i did not give up, as i had the support of my family and friends and even people whom I don't even know. I am very grateful to all of them!

I did all my best, had a computer tomography every three months, all relatively quiet, apparently the quiet before the storm. The metastasis multiplied in the body, the pain was unbearable, it was furthermore difficult to breathe, the pain relieving medicine stopped to help. It seemed like the end.

However, in the hospice the doctors decided to fight for my life and prescribed another chemotherapy to stop the growth of the metastasis. It worked! The breaks between taking medicine became longer and I could play with my grandchildren and grow flowers. Even with the life quality i had I believed in my luck and continued hoping. Because hope is something that keeps us alive.

Due to six courses of chemotherapy i had a long awaited remission, however the prognosis of the last tomography appeared to be no good – the metastasis grew everywhere, even in the muscles, as if they were avenging for the full life I led. I wanted to cover with a blanket and cry. "Believe me, other people are in a much worse situation and they keep on hoping" - said my doctor. I was always lucky for good people. I am morally ready to continue my struggle, but now my life is in your hands. I am asking for help from anyone, even now, when there is no light in the end of the tunnel.

"Night is darkest before the dawn" - said the Chinese wiseman. I am not alone in my fight for life, i am not loosing hope that with your help I will live for many more years. I really want to live and prove on the example of my story that nothing is impossible and everything can be overcome!

Name: Liudmila M. Vershygorova, 15.07.1959

Location: Kyiv

Diagnosis: leyomio-Sa uterine st.I T1N0M0 (since 2009), the continuation of diseases: Mts in retroperitoneal nodes, lungs, secondary pain kl.gr.II