Dinanyoris - her struggle continues against breast cancer

Dinányoris continues to struggle against breast cancer

Fundación solidaria del divino niño Jesús
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

Dinányoris has been battling breast cancer for the past three years. Her fight is not over yet, her supportive husband Victor, and loving three year old son are with her all the way, refusing to give up. Since being diagnosed in 2012, Dinányoris has had a double mascetomy, 16 rounds of chemotherapy, and a long course of Herceptin – a hormone treatment necessary for Dinányoris’ fight against breast cancer . This final treatment was enabled through a very generous donation of Roche to Krebsallianz. 

One year on and she certainly looks healthy. She explains how she tries to keep herself active, providing the necessary amount of oxygen on a cellular level is crucial to work with the medicines she has been taking. Victor speaks candidly to us about how “mind boggling and overwhelming” the struggle has been and makes a point of saying that it was a problem of negligence more than anything else. Dinányoris’ first meeting with the doctor regarding a lump in her breast was waved off as nothing serious, just a liquid filled lump.  “If it can happen to one, it can happen to everyone.”

Dinányoris told us last time we met that she would love more than anything to be able to have another child, to give little Evan a brother or a sister. This natural wish should not be taken from her and they tell us how lucky they are to have God and everyone around the family supporting them. And without the Fundación Solidaria del Divino Niño Jesús (FSDNJ) and Krebsallianz they would not have got nearly as far as they are in helping her recovery move forward. “If we hadn’t have been with you guys, we would have been in a terrible terrible situation” The young family tell us that living in a third world country one is always at a disadvantage. That is something nobody can change overnight. Their current situation presents the daily struggle met by many cancer sufferers all over the world in under developed countries.

Dinányoris’ doctors advised her to put her treatment on hold as the medicine was seriously affecting her liver. The next step they have to take before being able to continue with the treatment, or know what she needs is something that Europeans and patients in the developed world can get very easily, a PET scan. We are told that currently a PET scan is not possible throughout the whole of the Dominican Republic. This is a new situation with many people guessing at to why all of sudden it cannot be done. “They’re playing around, that is sad as they are playing around with a life. It isn’t just her, imagine how many people are here with that same situation. And they can’t get this scan, because they are playing around”. Dinányoris and Viktor are keeping positive, not giving up to trying to find options to travel to the states, yet they don’t have a visa. This is the next step that they are working on. Once Dinányoris has these results, and only then, can she know at what stage she is at, how much longer she has to undergo treatment, has the cancer returned? Right now however she is in a state of limbo, not knowing what to do or where to turn to. Krebsallianz and their partners FSDNJ in the Dominican Republic are committed to follow Dinányoris’ case and keep up to date with her recovery. As Victor tell us, they are able to keep positive, which is necessary for their son, never giving up but continuing to find ways to help her “we only have our guts and God”.

As our meeting comes to a close, they tell us how grateful they are for everyone that has helped out  “You don’t know how appreciative I am of you guys, and for the help that you and the foundation specifically gave us. Thank you so much.”

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American Nicaraguan Foundation

ANF´s institutional mission is to acquire necessary resources directly or through strategic partners to reduce the impact of poverty on the lives of the most vulnerable population in Nicaragua. These sustainable non-profitable resources are donated in an efficient, effective and transparent manner, with the assistance of a network of local partners.