Sharjah: A mother of three in Sharjah diagnosed with cancer is desperately seeking help for an operation that could just turn her life around.
Raymunda V. De Jesus, a Filipina housewife who moved to the UAE in 2000, said all was well until February 2009 when she suddenly developed severe constipation.
Things worsened despite medication she said, adding that in April she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer when doctors found a malignant mass in her large intestine.
"It has been a long battle ever since," she said.
Chemotherapy sessions
Shuttling between four hospitals — Central Private Hospital in Sharjah, Gulf International Cancer Centre, Abu Dhabi and Rashid and Dubai Hospitals in Dubai — Raymunda said she has undergone a series of procedures, including 30 sessions of chemotherapy.
Living with just a small intestine (as the large intestine has been removed), she said her liver has been affected too.
Her husband, Leonilo Neil De Jesus, said: "She may have to undergo another operation to remove part of the liver which has lesions on both the left and right side. A positron emission tomography (PET) scan showed lesions in her upper stomach which have to be removed. Otherwise, they will create havoc."
Leonilo, who works at a maritime company in Sharjah, said his limited resources were insufficient to bear the prohibitive cost of his wife's treatment and take care of their three children. "We would be very grateful for any help that we can get," he said.
"I do the house chores myself and keep my spirits up for the sake of my family. My children are very young, just 11, six and three," said Raymunda.
"The elder girl and boy go to school while my youngest son is at home with me," she said.
"I hope I will be able to get the operation done and be around for them," she said.
If you wish to help Raymunda, write to editor@xpress4me.com
