Meet Zaw, a 44-year-old man from Burma. He has lived in a Buddhist temple for fifteen years, ever since his wife passed away. He receives no income from the temple, but is provided with food and a place to sleep. In his spare time, Zaw enjoys making small handicrafts, such as bamboo umbrellas.
Four months ago, Zaw started coughing up blood. His local doctor put him on oral medication for three months. However, Zaw began to feel extremely tired, and breathing was becoming difficult for him. Further exams—a tuberculosis test, an x-ray, and an ECG—have come back negative, but Zaw’s symptoms continued to worsen. Today, he still has a hard time breathing, has no appetite, and is severely underweight.
Zaw’s current physician is not sure whether he has lung cancer or chronic lung disease. In order to determine this, and to decide on an appropriate treatment plan, Zaw’s doctors need him to undergo a CT scan. Although Zaw has no money to pay for this test, we can raise the $414 he needs. This will cover his CT scan on July 11, as well as his pre- and post-scan appointments.
Let’s make sure Zaw’s doctors have all of the information they need.