Hla is a 42-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her husband in a village in Bago Division. Hla and her husband are farmers. In early of September 2023, Hla felt a small lump in her right breast. As the lump was not painful and did not cause her any discomfort, she did not seek treatment until the mass started to increase in size. She received an injection from a village health worker, but the mass continued to grow and eventually became slightly painful. Hla experiences slight pain and discomfort in her right breast. Hla sought treatment through our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund. She is now scheduled to undergo mass removal surgery on December 12th. She is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of her procedure and care. Hla said, "Since my condition has worsened, I cannot help my husband much on the farm. I mostly stay at home and do some household chores. To come to Thailand, I had to borrow money from our neighbors and we need to pay them 5% interest which makes me worried. Thank you to the kind donors and the organization for supporting my treatment cost."

Khin is a 49-year-old refugee living with her father, her daughter and her younger sister in a refugee camp, in Tak Province along the Thail-Burma border. Her family fled from Karen State, Burma to Thailand in 2017 because of the conflict in their area. Khin’s father is retired and her daughter is a student. Khin’s sister looks after their retired father at home. Khin Mar is a day labourer in the camp. However, the job is not available every day. Every month her family receives 1,200 baht (approx. 40 USD) on a cash card from the organization The Border Consortium. This amount combined with her monthly salary is enough to cover their daily needs. They receive free basic health care provided by the International Rescue Committee in the camp but surgical care is not available there. In the middle of 2023, Khin noticed pain in her lower abdomen. Still, she did not go to the hospital or clinic as she thought the process was normal for women who are getting older and close to menopause. However, in the beginning of November, she noticed that the pain worsened and now the pain is constant. She visited the hospital in the camp, where the medic gave her some medication and she returned home. The pain did not resolve and continued. On 13 November, she returned to the hospital in the camp where she met with the doctor and the doctor performed an ultrasound for her and told her that there is a mass in her uterus. The doctor told her that they will refer her to Mae Sot Hospital (MSH) where she received another ultrasound, and the doctor diagnosed her with uterine myoma - a benign tumour in the uterus and also told her that she needs surgery to remove the mass as well as her whole uterus. Khin has been experiencing lower abdominal pain and back pain almost every day now. She cannot sleep as she worries that if she receives surgery, she will not be able to work and will not have income. At the same time, she also feels hard to perform her job well as she feels that her back pain makes it worse for her when she washes clothes. If left untreated, Khin's symptoms will continue to worsen and put her at risk for further health complications in the future. Fortunately, Khin is scheduled to undergo her hysterectomy which will heal her condition on December 4th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to cover the cost of her procedure and care. After surgery, she will no longer in pain and she will be able to continue her job comfortably like before. Khin said, “if I do not work, I worry that I will not have enough income for my family and also when I heard that I need surgery, I worry about the surgery cost. When I heard that there will be a donor for me, my father and I are very happy as we know we cannot afford to pay for this expensive surgery.”

Oliver is a married mother of four children, all of whom are married with children except the last one who is still in school. She is a farmer together with her husband. Her second child, a daughter, has been there for her support throughout her illness. Oliver likes chatting with her daughter and enjoys eating nsima made from cassava maize flour served with fresh fish. Oliver was well until one year ago when she noted a small lump on her right breast that was not painful. She visited her nearest hospital where some pain medication was provided. She visited many other hospitals after noting that the growth was becoming bigger as time passed. At one of the hospitals, a diagnosis of suspected breast cancer was made before proceeding to Kamuzu Central Hospital for further assessments. At Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), different tests were done, and a diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma was made followed by four cycles of neoadjuvant therapy. Oliver was later scheduled for surgery on January 15th this year but unfortunately, she did not report back since she did not have the funds. On January 29th, Oliver went back to KCH where she was referred to our medical partner's care center Partners in Hope Medical Center (PIH) so that she can undergo surgery more urgently. Of late, Oliver has been experiencing needle pricking pains, and weakness affecting her farm work plus household chores as a mother. On January 30th, Oliver reported to PIH and met the surgeon who confirmed the need for a modified radical mastectomy. Modified radical mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast, including the nipple, areola, and skin plus most axillary lymph nodes. Oliver believes the surgical operation will help her get back home in a good condition and enable her to resume her farm work. Oliver said, “Kindly remove this breast for me to have my peace of mind after getting rid of these bad symptoms that I experience, I would rather be able to move on in my age.”