Dear Donors
Thank you for your kind support! You will be delighted now that our goal has been accomplished. Rita is now in remission on the road to full recovery.
Further details can be found on her Facebook page below:
Great news! Rita reports that there have been close to RR 1,000,000 (circa NZD 26,300) collected so far from various sources. This is almost double than what we had at the same time last week, and whilst we still have a long way to go, this is a very encouraging start.
"I am frequently asked, why don't I ask for support from Charitable Organisations.
I have. And have been refused help by everybody because charitable organisations have certain criteria, and unfortunately, being 30, I fall outside of those criteria. Most charities in Russia help children under 18 and in some cases to young adults up to 25. I am neither.
Here is an example of what I have been told:
"Margarita, we have operational policies and procedures which we have to adhere by. Unfortunately we can only help children under 18 years of age".
All large corporations in Russia (and how my friends from overseas have now found out - the rest of the developed world too) channel all their fund raising activities through registered charities. Understandably, they do not have time to listen, check and verify individual applicants.
Similarly, national news work exclusively with registered charitable funds too (this is why I was only able to get my story through the local news channel in my home town: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I8-wYWXKIA&app=desktop).
So where does that leave me? Do sick people, even those with high chances of survival not have the right to be helped? To live?
This is why I am asking the world, the people, for help.
My family have now exhausted any resources we had over the past 10 years of my fight with cancer. People tell me yes. People help. Organisations and officials leave me without any support.
People, please continue your help. I am determined to beat this, but I can not do it alone. I need your help.
Thank You
Rita"
"My name is Margarita Shamasova (Storozheva/ Barkauskene). I was born in Russia and spend my childhood there.
When I was 17 I came to study in New Zealand (2001 to 2004). I had a very blessed and happy life back then. I was very appreciative of the opportunities that I've been given and was determined to make the most of them and make my family proud.
In 2004 my family suffered financial crisis and we were no longer able to pay international tuition fees in New Zealand. I decided to earn my own living and further my studies back in Kaliningrad with the hope of one day coming back to this side of the world.
I was only 20 when strange things started happening to my health. First there were constant bronchitis, I was coughing terribly and nothing helped. Then I started to itch. I would constantly scratch my legs from feet to knees and hands from wrists to elbows. Doctors have diagnosed allergies and gave me antihistamine treatments which did not help. The same doctors later decided that the itching was caused by stress ...
Time passed, I turned 21. By now my legs were covered with crust from constant scratching, I always wanted to sleep, appetite was lost, and some unexplained lumps started growing on my neck.
I visited doctors again. After a chest X-rays I was hospitalized in Skin and Venereal Diseases Clinic with a diagnosis of psoriasis and treated with body creams and baths. Needless to say this did not help and the symptoms were getting worse.
Then my diagnosis changed to "Red African Zoster", which according to the doctors I must have contracted during the time I spent in New Zealand. To my amazement, such minor geographical subtlety as the fact that New Zealand and Africa are separated by the Indian Ocean did not seem to bother anyone in the slightest.
The bumps on my neck continued to grow and my body was getting weaker and weaker. I checked myself out of the skin clinic without doctors' approval and approached regional hospital asking them to at least remove the lump on my neck.
The young surgeon in regional hospital suspected oncology and sent biopsy for analysis in St.Petersburg. I will be forever grateful to him for taking the initiative!
When the results came in and our worst fears became a reality, I was directed to the main chemotherapy facility in the region. There I was told that the type of therapy I needed would be the same everywhere in the world, and that I would not find any better treatment in St. Petesburg or abroad. Believing this was a very costly and potentially lethal mistake.
I began the treatment under the BEACOPP scheme. Unfortunately, I was not given one specific drug, Natulan, that I now know is an essential part of the course. If the doctors had just told me that they did not have enough funding to access Natulan, and that the drug was necessary, my family would have sourced it ourselves (as we did much later). But we weren't told, and we did not know, and as a result my treatment course was incomplete.
After 6 courses of chemotherapy I got arrhythmia - atrial fibrillation attack, tachysystole. The regional cardiology department recommended to do the 7th course of chemio, but my oncologist did not agree and I developed further heart problems.
By then I was starting to get a feeling that doctors were playing a very cruel game of "football". Just passing time waiting for my life to end.
I was scared, I could not understand what was going on. All I wanted was a life without a wig or another dose of chemotherapy.
I dedicated not to have any more treatments in Kaliningrad. After another relapse in May 2008 I approached Obninsk Radiological Center of Russian Academy of Medical Science. They tried to do another course of chemo, but I developed taheoaritmii and they proceeded with irradiation instead. They irradiated my neck and sent me home to drink Natulan.
I went into remission. Life went on as normal. I found a job and got married and became Margarita Shamasova. But the peaceful life was note meant to last for long. In March 2010 I had a relapse. Another course of irradiation followed and again I was sent home to drink Natulan.
Then in 2013 the disease have returned and started progressing fast. I spent 5 courses under the scheme COPP and, you guessed it, back home to drink Natulan. There seemed to be nothing more that the new doctors were willing to do.
When for the countless time I was at home drinking Natulan, I came to know that a girl from my hospital who recently passed away has been treated in the same manner - taking Natulan at home. I realized then that the doctors have simply given up.
In September 2014 after an extensive relapse and with both the Kaliningrad and the Obninsk doctors both giving me only a month of live, I was determined to find a doctor who would not give up on me.
I was advised to try Petrov Research Institute in St. Petersburg. There I found the best doctor in the world - Ilya Sergeyevich Zyuzgin. Reading my medical history Ilya was horrified and had a few string words to say. Then he told me honestly there is a chance that it may be too late, but he promised to fight to the end.
The main problem was that after so many rounds of chemo my cancer cells have developed resistance. However after 4 courses under the new regiment I showed great improvement. It have undergone a high-dose chemotherapy BEAM and autologous hematopoietic stem cells transplantation.
Which bring us to now. In June 2015 the tests showed 3 new areas of activity. Ilya Sergeyevich explained that the progression of the disease occurs when the body gets used to chemo. To recover I need the drug "Adcetris" which has been used successfully in Germany and US.
With this treatment I have high chances of not just extending my life, but be completely cured.
Based on my body weight and height I need to take 3 packs per month and continue this treatment for 10 to 12 months. One pack costs 3,900 euros.
And here I am only one step away from cure, but it cost much more than my family and I can ever afford.
I want to have children and build a house. I really want to live. Please help me".
"My Story:
I have been fighting cancer for the past ten years. I have been through dozens of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
Last September I was told that I have only one month to live.
Thankfully doctors in Saint Petersburg were able to perform a miracle and now I have a chance pf a complete cure.
Unfortunately my disease got used to chemo. At the moment I have three small tumors which are highly aggressive (4-5 Deauville).
If I don't get treated I will die in a year, but if I manage to get new medicine called Adcetris, I have very high chances to be fully cured.
Adcetris strikes CD30 cells wich I have in my tumors. There is 95% that the medication will work for me.
Unfortunately Adcetriss costs a fortune. 3900 euro per pack. I need 3 packs per course and 10-12 courses. That is 140 000 Euro!
Me or my family do not have this kind of money, and any assets we once owned have long been gone to help fund my medical bills so far.
I am begging the world to help me. I’ve fought so hard past 10 years. I don't want to die just a step away from the victory.
Please, help me!"
Thanks to generosity of Rita's friends all over the world we have collected close to 14,000 NZD in total so far.
Whilst it sounds like an incredibly large amount to collect in only the first week of fundraising, we are still very far away from the $230,000 target that Rita needs before she can start her treatment.
The time has been kind to us, and despite doctors' prognosis Rita is still with us and and is still going strong. This girl is a fighter! But we need to act fast. Please continue your kind support.
Thank you
Elena
