Fundraising for Maheen’s Cancer Treatment (Phase II)

September 2023

Phase II: Fundraising for Maheen's Cancer Treatment

Maheen was diagnosed with Stage 3B cancer on September 19, 2022. Over the past year, she has endured a relentless treatment plan including:

• 12 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy
• 2 surgeries
• 19 rounds of radiation
• 13 (out of 17) rounds of immunotherapy
• Over 100 medical appointments with doctors, oncologists, surgeons, allied health professionals (physio, occupational therapists, etc), and various specialists

A few weeks ago, Maheen received terrible and unexpected news that the cancer has spread. She is re-starting chemotherapy again this Monday September 18th.

Our greatest wish is to create ease and abundance for Maheen, so she can focus on her treatment and recovery. As she begins Phase 2 of her treatment, we are launching a second fundraising campaign with a new website (www.supportmaheen.com), and a series of live events in Toronto to address immediate financial needs and costs related to treatment. If you have offered support previously, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Your support has been critical and so appreciated. Please read on to learn about Maheen’s journey thus far, the grim reality of our “universal” healthcare system, and practical steps you can take today to support our campaign and our dear friend.

Meet Maheen

Maheen contains multitudes: A generous and devoted friend. A mental health and trauma therapist. A clinical social worker. A mischief-maker. A curator of poetry and art. A connoisseur of delicious home-cooked meals. A vessel of love. A brilliant writer who is always insisting on the power of language with her work. A lover of the Mediterranean sea. A beloved daughter, sister, aunt, friend, colleague, and chosen family to many near and far. Above all else, Maheen is a purveyor of justice and kindness in everything she does.

Our beloved Maheen has supported many in their hour of need, both personally and professionally.

Maheen is fiercely passionate about supporting and serving refugee populations and political asylum seekers seeking mental health support all over the world. She has worked as a humanitarian aid worker in conflict zones, a psychotherapist in Pakistan, a clinical social worker in trauma programs in Toronto. Having lived and worked in Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, Afghanistan and Canada, Maheen has spent her life advocating for and supporting vulnerable populations in gaining dignified access to support, while facing displacement and persecution. In ways unimaginable, Maheen has cultivated her life to be in service to others and to offer reprieve and healing during challenging times.

She is so many things wrapped into one human bundle of joy and is resting in the heavy hearts of many as she goes through this daunting health crisis.

Costs of Cancer Treatment

Since her diagnosis, Maheen has been through a relentless treatment plan with rapidly increasing costs. If you have seen a loved one navigate cancer treatment in Canada, you know that we do not have a truly “universal” healthcare system. Cancer patients in Canada have to pay for countless expenses out of pocket, often accruing significant debt and financial stress, while coping with the emotional and physical toll of treatment. Some of these costs include:

• Medications that are not covered by public healthcare (despite being essential)
• Transportation to and from medical appointments (often multiple in a day, at different hospitals)
• Most treatment services by allied health professionals, such as a naturopath, registered massage therapist, dietician, physiotherapist, etc.
• Any pharmacy medications to ease pain, discomfort, insomnia, nausea caused by treatment
• A strict diet of organic, natural, GMO-free foods (expensive!)
• Essential services to support a cancer patient at home such as, grocery delivery or house cleaning services
• Flights and transportation for immediate family to travel to Canada to support Maheen
• Rent in Toronto, utilities, bills, and daily costs of living, while being unable to work

Our goal is to raise funds to address i) existing medical debts and ii) support Maheen with all of the expenses above, during Phase II of her cancer treatment.

Maheen has been unable to work and does not have access to health insurance through an employer or a private benefits plan. Many of the medications needed during this time, including ones related to treatment, are not covered by the provincial healthcare system in Ontario.

How You Can Help

Join us to help create ease and abundance for Maheen, so she can focus on her treatment and recovery. How you can help:

1. Donate to this campaign. Please donate with a generous, open heart, whatever that may be. Every single donation helps.
2. Share this campaign with your personal and professional networks, by email, on social media, and (most impactful!) reaching out to your close loved ones directly.
3. Subscribe to updates from this campaign, so you hear of any additional events and calls to action.
4. In Toronto? Join us for the launch of Ease and Abundance: A Fundraising Series for Maheen on Tuesday October 3rd. Tickets are available now on EventBrite.
5. Run a Mile for Maheen: We’re looking for folks who would love to sign up to commit to run 1 Mile and raise $1000 dollars within their circles in support of this fundraising campaign. Run your mile, raise your funds and donate to our ongoing efforts to empower Maheen during this time.
6. Help us with upcoming fundraising events. Donate your skills, your time, your connections! We are actively seeking musicians, performers, venues, prizes for silent auctions. We are also looking for creative ideas! Maybe you're a yoga teacher and can donate proceeds from a class dedicated to Maheen, or part of a running club that could organize an event for Maheen.

Please give with an open heart.

Please share widely with your personal and professional networks.

With infinite love and gratitude,

Maheen's Care Constellation

Who We Are

We are a collection of friends who know Maheen through various aspects of a fiercely passionate life she has cultivated for herself over the years. You can contact us through this fundraiser or by email at careconstellation22 [at] gmail.com.