70km to pay for chemotherapy

Dear all,

Thank you for making it to my page.

I am fundraising towards the cost of chemotherapy for my beloved grandmother - Elena Semenyak.

I am running 10 mini-marathons, with a distance of 7km each!!! Please see ''updates'' above for information & photos of each mini-marathon. 

I am  carrying a pedometer with me on each mini-marathon and a series of independent bodies record the completed challenges.

My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer in June last year. She had her kidney removed and after the surgery, the tests were promising. She went for regular checks, last of which identified a malignant tumour on the adrenal gland of her only kidney (a gland on the top of a kidney). The test also showed that metastases (cancerous cells) have spread to her lungs.

Surgery, the doctors said cannot be done, as a blood vessel that runs over the adrenal gland, if damaged, could cause a fatal outcome. No surgery can be done on the lungs either, as the cancer cells are very small and are broadly spread out. Her only hope is chemotherapy in tablet form. Unlike here in the UK, where cancer treatment is free, in Ukraine, all medication must be bought.
While our family can manage to pay for half of the treatment, the rest we must raise. 

Note from granny's doctor..
 
Translation...


My grandmother was brought up in a small village of Bydki, Nemyriv district, Vinnytsia region,Ukraine. The family was poor and her parents worked really hard to support four children. At the age of 20, my grandmother married, and gave birth to my mother Alla and my uncle Vitalyi. The family was unhappy, as my grand-father abused alcohol and domestic violence towards my granny was frequent. When my mother was eight, he left the family. My granny was left with two children to look after, as well as a father, who suffered from throat cancer. In order to support the family, my grandma worked at a so-called ‘’grain elevator’’ - (grain processing factory). The work was laborious as the grain had to be weighed out and required a considerable amount of physical work. For the whole duration of the day, a protective mask had to be worn as exposure to dust was very harmful.

To add to the hardship, the distance between my granny’s house and her work was 7km. Due to the lack of money for transport, she had to make this journey twice a day, every day, for thirty years.

Here's the journey she had to make every day...


To say that my granny is an extraordinary woman is to say nothing. All obstacles, she faced with an immense degree of strength and dignity. Her positivity and humour lightens up everyone around her.

All the family and her three wonderful grandchildren – Henry (photo below), Dasha (profile photo) and myself, all love her and pray to see her healthy.


Thank you very much for all your support and contributions.

Natasha & all the family.