The Cancer Drug That Could Save My Life

I'm from Bangladesh and 27 years old. I was born in a society where anyone hardly heard the word C-A-N-C-E-R. So in face of impossible odds my physician suggested chemotherapy accompanied by Rituxan (a biologic drug), but I was unable to afford it because the drug costs a fortune.
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I'm from Bangladesh and 27 years old. I was born in a society where anyone hardly heard the word C-A-N-C-E-R. I was brought up in a country village where a critical disease is still an alien as there is no way to diagnose it. Here people understand a disease means death. People affected in critical disease never go for diagnosis and silently die.

As my father is a primary school teacher, he has felt an importance to educate me and after secondary and higher secondary education I completed my Masters of Arts in 2011.In fact, my higher education introduced the world to me and helped me be tech-savvy. Then I started teaching kids. I am a person who has been always positive in every aspect of life but my life got upside-down when I was diagnosed with cancer that stopped me doing everything. So in face of impossible odds my physician suggested chemotherapy (CHOP) accompanied by Rituxan (a biologic drug), but due to my inability to afford Rituxan, I unwillingly had to be satisfied with 8 cycles of chemotherapy, because in my country, the drug Rituxan costs a fortune. I am still a good candidate for this drug but as I am quite unable to afford it, my energies are now focused on this effort. Truly I know my life has no use to live on, but I do not want my passion to die. My passion is to teach kids and my teaching causes them to smile. The smile of kids has inspired me to teach lifelong. So I find myself largely relevant to live to keep my kids smiling in their learning.

I live in a country where any assistance is an impossible hope. We have here no way to enjoy any insurance or aid from the government or any organization to save one from dying. It's best to say I'm geographically unfortunate. If I can live a cancer-free life I would like to vow genuinely to inspire people around me and raise awareness of cancer in my country.

Moshaddek, 27, is a young adult cancer survivor who enjoys teaching. He is a member of BELTA (Bangladesh English Language Teacher Association).

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