This 23 year old cancer patient cannot afford chemotherapy

Ishara Désiré is 23 years old and has leukaemia. He needs chemotherapy but he lives in the Congo which is one of the poorest countries in the world. The chemotherapy will cost £1,125. His family cannot afford the cost of his treatment which is equivalent to 18 month's wages. He needs help so that he can pay for the treatment that he needs to beat cancer.

My name is Nick Tischler. I am a trustee of a UK charity that supports people in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through this charity I met Dieudonne who is a doctor working in the same region. He told me about his nephew, Isahara, is very ill.

Ishara Desire is 23 years old. He lives in Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with his mother and father who is a pastor. He was hospitalised several times during his childhood. By the age of 21, he had been monitored by the hospital several times but without clinical improvement in the symptoms. In 2019, when he was 22, he was diagnosed with leukemia. The hospital suggested transfering him to Kampala in Uganda, in order to follow up his pathology. Isahara's family could not afford this and so I launched an appeal to raise money for the treatment. Enough money was collected to pay for the Isahara's transport to the hospital where he received care. The treatment itself was paid for by his family and members of his father's church. The appeal was also able to cover the cost of his trip home to the Congo.

In May 2020, after about 8 months of good health, Ishara had a relapse. He went for a consultation at the general provincial hospital in Bukavu where he was given a single treatment of chemotherapy at a cost of £375. This was paid for by his family with the help of a donation from me. The doctor said that a further 3 treatments of chemotherapy will be required. The treatments will be given every 6 weeks. After the 3 treatments the doctor will evaluate Isahara's condition and decide whether or not to continue with the treatment.

Each of the 3 treatments will cost £375, making a total of £1,125. The average Gross National Income in the DR Congo is £730. In other words, the cost of Isahara's future treatment is equivalent to about 18 month's income. The family's financial means are very limited and they are not able to afford such a large amount of money.

Ishara needs £375 by the end of June, and another £375 in the middle of August, to pay for his next chemotherapy treatments.
Can you please donate and help him to beat his cancer?