Parto's Brave Fight With Osteosarcoma
Donation protected
It was only a couple of years in June of 2018 that I reached out to you when my friend Farokh (Rokhy) Emami began her journey to fight breast cancer. You may recall that Rokhy was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer at the age of 45 in December of 2017. She was fortunate to find the tumor early herself and with her persistence, resilient attitude and the prayers and support of friends, family, and many in the community she was able to beat the cancer and began resuming her life.
Life was promising again for Rokhy after the dreadful and difficult treatments came to an end. She slowly regained her energy and strength, and her hair eventually grew back. The following year, she witnessed her only child, Parto graduate from high school, and begin attending college. Rokhy also got a new job that she really loved and life was normal again. But, little did she or anyone could have known or predicted, there was another storm on the horizons for this mother-daughter duo. Hence, I am initiating another campaign and I am asking you again to offer your prayers and support.
Sometime in the Fall of 2020, 19-year-old Parto began complaining of left hip pain. When X-rays of the hips were unremarkable, her doctors attributed the pain to “growing pains.” Around that time, Parto also had some back pain that would come and go. She was eventually diagnosed with kidney stones and after a couple of ER visits, she underwent an ureteroscopic stone removal surgery on November 8, 2020 at Mission Hospital, where the stones were successfully broken into smaller pieces using shockwave and eventually flushed out. The procedure was uncomplicated and Parto was scheduled to be discharged the next day. Meanwhile, her left hip pain continued and since Parto was already in the hospital, Rokhy insisted on an MRI, just as she had insisted on an MRI when she had found a lump in her own breast a couple of years earlier and had been assured by her doctors that an MRI was not necessary. Rokhy’s instance again turned out to be potentially life saving. The MRI showed a suspicious tumor near the left femur, as well as a fracture on the same femur. Further imaging on November 11, 2020 confirmed the diagnosis for a type of bone cancer known as osteosarcoma. Utter devastation, sadness, despair, shock and even anger does not even begin to describe how Rokhy and Parto felt upon being informed of yet another cancer diagnosis for this mother and daughter.
Remember, I told you last time that this wasn’t the first time cancer had knocked on Rokhy’s door? Well, this wasn’t the second or third time either. This is the FOURTH time. At the age of only ten months, Parto was diagnosed with retinoblastoma (a rare cancer of the eye) in Iran. With the help of her brother Farzin who lives in New Mexico, Rokhy and Parto moved to the US and started cancer treatment at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Rokhy spent months at her toddler daughter’s bedside at the hospital. Months of chemotherapy, radiation, countless follow up visits, scans, ER visits, and multiple hospitalizations ensued for the next almost three years until the cancer went into remission. Although Parto had recovered, the doctors told Rokhy that with childhood cancers, there is always an increased chance of recurrence within 10 years.
Dreadfully, at the age of 11, Parto was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. With her brother’s support again and the support of friends and the community, this strong and extraordinary mother and daughter persisted as they embarked on yet another grueling round of chemotherapy treatments, prolonged hospitalizations at Children’s Hospital Orange County, countless tests, and at times devastating medical set backs until the cancer thankfully went into remission.
Life continued and the pair thrived as years passed. They had made Orange County their home and they loved it. Parto was a well-adjusted, happy, and thankfully a healthy teenager. She attended Capo Valley High School and was popular with a nice circle of good friends. Parto started college in the Fall of 2019 and was enjoying her classes. This has now changed, but hopefully temporarily. A tough battle lies ahead as Rokhy and Parto must now fight Parto’s third and their fourth collective bout with this ugly disease.
This campaign has been launched by Sahel Alemansour and I with the permission of Rokhy and Parto. Please note that with the exception of the small administration fee that GoFundMe site takes from the donations to every campaign, every one of your kind donations will go directly to Rokhy and Parto to lighten the financial burden during this difficult period in their lives.
Rokhy is a single mother and has not been able to return to her job since this diagnosis, and she will likely not be able to for at least another year. Parto has already started chemotherapy treatments. Depending on the tumor’s response to the treatment, she will hopefully undergo surgery in February 2021 to remove the tumor on the femur. Once she is strong enough after surgery, she will resume her chemotherapy treatments for a few more months. After that, Parto will need months of physical therapy and rehabilitation. Given the long duration of the treatments and the recovery process, our goal is to raise $150,000 in 60 days.
Heroes are not fictional characters in cartoons or movies. Heroes are everyday people that do something, however large or small, to make a difference in the life of a person in need. We ask you to share this campaign with everyone you know and to keep Rokhy and Parto in your prayers. We will keep you abreast of Parto’s recovery and we thank you for your support.
Arshia Mardasi & Sahel Alemansour https://youtu.be/ftXmaHiWL_g
Life was promising again for Rokhy after the dreadful and difficult treatments came to an end. She slowly regained her energy and strength, and her hair eventually grew back. The following year, she witnessed her only child, Parto graduate from high school, and begin attending college. Rokhy also got a new job that she really loved and life was normal again. But, little did she or anyone could have known or predicted, there was another storm on the horizons for this mother-daughter duo. Hence, I am initiating another campaign and I am asking you again to offer your prayers and support.
Sometime in the Fall of 2020, 19-year-old Parto began complaining of left hip pain. When X-rays of the hips were unremarkable, her doctors attributed the pain to “growing pains.” Around that time, Parto also had some back pain that would come and go. She was eventually diagnosed with kidney stones and after a couple of ER visits, she underwent an ureteroscopic stone removal surgery on November 8, 2020 at Mission Hospital, where the stones were successfully broken into smaller pieces using shockwave and eventually flushed out. The procedure was uncomplicated and Parto was scheduled to be discharged the next day. Meanwhile, her left hip pain continued and since Parto was already in the hospital, Rokhy insisted on an MRI, just as she had insisted on an MRI when she had found a lump in her own breast a couple of years earlier and had been assured by her doctors that an MRI was not necessary. Rokhy’s instance again turned out to be potentially life saving. The MRI showed a suspicious tumor near the left femur, as well as a fracture on the same femur. Further imaging on November 11, 2020 confirmed the diagnosis for a type of bone cancer known as osteosarcoma. Utter devastation, sadness, despair, shock and even anger does not even begin to describe how Rokhy and Parto felt upon being informed of yet another cancer diagnosis for this mother and daughter.
Remember, I told you last time that this wasn’t the first time cancer had knocked on Rokhy’s door? Well, this wasn’t the second or third time either. This is the FOURTH time. At the age of only ten months, Parto was diagnosed with retinoblastoma (a rare cancer of the eye) in Iran. With the help of her brother Farzin who lives in New Mexico, Rokhy and Parto moved to the US and started cancer treatment at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Rokhy spent months at her toddler daughter’s bedside at the hospital. Months of chemotherapy, radiation, countless follow up visits, scans, ER visits, and multiple hospitalizations ensued for the next almost three years until the cancer went into remission. Although Parto had recovered, the doctors told Rokhy that with childhood cancers, there is always an increased chance of recurrence within 10 years.
Dreadfully, at the age of 11, Parto was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. With her brother’s support again and the support of friends and the community, this strong and extraordinary mother and daughter persisted as they embarked on yet another grueling round of chemotherapy treatments, prolonged hospitalizations at Children’s Hospital Orange County, countless tests, and at times devastating medical set backs until the cancer thankfully went into remission.
Life continued and the pair thrived as years passed. They had made Orange County their home and they loved it. Parto was a well-adjusted, happy, and thankfully a healthy teenager. She attended Capo Valley High School and was popular with a nice circle of good friends. Parto started college in the Fall of 2019 and was enjoying her classes. This has now changed, but hopefully temporarily. A tough battle lies ahead as Rokhy and Parto must now fight Parto’s third and their fourth collective bout with this ugly disease.
This campaign has been launched by Sahel Alemansour and I with the permission of Rokhy and Parto. Please note that with the exception of the small administration fee that GoFundMe site takes from the donations to every campaign, every one of your kind donations will go directly to Rokhy and Parto to lighten the financial burden during this difficult period in their lives.
Rokhy is a single mother and has not been able to return to her job since this diagnosis, and she will likely not be able to for at least another year. Parto has already started chemotherapy treatments. Depending on the tumor’s response to the treatment, she will hopefully undergo surgery in February 2021 to remove the tumor on the femur. Once she is strong enough after surgery, she will resume her chemotherapy treatments for a few more months. After that, Parto will need months of physical therapy and rehabilitation. Given the long duration of the treatments and the recovery process, our goal is to raise $150,000 in 60 days.
Heroes are not fictional characters in cartoons or movies. Heroes are everyday people that do something, however large or small, to make a difference in the life of a person in need. We ask you to share this campaign with everyone you know and to keep Rokhy and Parto in your prayers. We will keep you abreast of Parto’s recovery and we thank you for your support.
Arshia Mardasi & Sahel Alemansour https://youtu.be/ftXmaHiWL_g
Fundraising team (2)
Arshia Mardasi
Organizer
Aliso Viejo, CA
Farokh Emami
Beneficiary
Sahel Alemansour
Team member