Somaly is a 27-year-old woman who is married and lives in Banteay Mean Chey Province in Cambodia. Her husband is a construction worker, and they have two active sons. The first is 10 years old and in grade 5, and their second is 2 years old. When she is not cooking or cleaning for the family, she likes to watch TV and listen to the radio.
When Somaly was 14, she noticed a small tumor on her face that has now grown. She has had surgery twice, and was scheduled for a mandible resection, but did not have the money. It has continued to grow and she now has an abscess that is causing more symptoms. In March 2021 she went to a government hospital and fortunately, they referred her to our Medical Partner Children’s Surgical Centre. Doctors diagnosed her with ameloblastoma of the mandible and left maxilla. She feels very poorly most of the time. She experiences pain, has discharge from her mouth, and cannot eat.
When Somaly learned about our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre, she traveled for ten hours seeking treatment. On November 30th, surgeons at CSC will perform a mandibulectomy and maxillectomy to to allow her face to return to finally heal, and have no more pain or embarrassment. Now, she needs help to fund this $657 procedure.
Somaly shared, “I hope the tumor will be removed, and I won’t have to hide from people and be ashamed of how I look.”