Help Irina get life-saving immunotherapy

Hi, my name is Galina, and I am fundraising for my mom Irina's immunotherapy treatments, which will hopefully help to extend her life as much as possible.

In February of this year, my mom had surgery for skin cancer. Things didn't heal well and kept causing issues throughout the spring. At a follow-up appointment in June, a CT scan was scheduled for July. The scan results confirmed the presence of a tumor that required another surgery, and we were also told that there was "no evidence of metastases." However, this information would turn out to be wrong.

At that point, it was unclear how soon the surgery could be done here in BC, and the doctor who spoke to my mom said that if we could find an opportunity for a quicker solution outside the country, she would encourage us to use it. Through some contacts, we arranged for my mom to have the surgery in Germany in early August.

The surgery was complicated and long, but it went well. At that point, it was believed that my mom would need chemotherapy and radiation after she healed up a bit from surgery. However, a CT scan done about a week after the surgery revealed the awful truth: the cancer had metastasized to the lungs. Additionally, the German doctors also noticed that the metastases had actually been visible in the CT scan from July. This means her doctors in Canada missed them entirely.

The treatment plan was then altered to reflect this new reality. Instead of a combination of chemo and radiation, my mom was to have chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. As far as I understand it, immunotherapy is still a relatively new treatment option, but it's shown great effectiveness for certain cancers. Further tests showed very high PDL1 levels, which indicates that my mom's case is a really good candidate for immunotherapy to be effective.

My mom's first two chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments were done in Germany, after which we flew back to Canada. Back home in BC, we were able to get her remaining chemotherapy appointments on the schedule that had been established in Germany. We were also able to get the immunotherapy treatments on a similar schedule. We want to continue the immunotherapy treatments, as recommended by the doctors in Germany (the ones who caught the metastases in the first place), because they are sure this is the best course of action to treat my mom’s cancer.

We do not hold any kind of citizenship or financial ties to Germany, so everything related to the treatment in Germany – the surgery, the hospital stay, medications, and the two chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments – was paid for out of pocket.

Now that we’re back home in BC, the chemotherapy treatments here are thankfully covered by the healthcare system. However, in British Columbia, immunotherapy is not covered at all. The full cost of the drug is charged to the patient, and the infusions are done at a private clinic.

The cost of each treatment is over $10,000 CAD, and the treatments are done every three weeks.

This is why I’m fundraising.

The German doctors had prescribed for the immunotherapy to be done every three weeks for at least two years. As you can probably imagine, we are doubtful that we will be able to afford it for that long, but we are determined to keep it going for as long as we can.

I have a very small family – it’s just me, my mom, my dad, and my grandma – and we’ve been trying to keep everything together, but it’s been an incredibly tough few months. We have received a lot of amazing support from friends, and that has meant the absolute world to us.

My mom is the best mom I could’ve asked for. She’s very smart, incredibly understanding, and a great listener. She’s one of the most important people in my life and I’m going to try to do everything I can to help her.

Whether you know my mom Irina in real life or not, please consider donating to this fundraiser. Every little bit helps.

Thank you with all my heart.