Linda is a 43-year-old woman. Her parents were not legally married, so she is not entitled to have an ID or a personal civil registry card. When she got married, she was able to procure herself a family statement from the civil registry. She has two children, a boy (10 years) and a girl (8 years and a half).

She lost her husband after a three-year battle with cancer, and since his death, she takes care of her children on her own.  She is illiterate and unable to find a job, and manages to survive thanks to BASSMA's support at all levels: food, clothes, education, rent, medical, etc.

One week ago, Linda called BASSMA in emergency; because she found out she has a breast edema.

We made an appointment with a gynecologist for diagnosis, and after the clinical test, BASSMA helped Linda make a bilateral mammography and an ultrasound in order to detect the cause of the edema.

Result: Linda suffers from stage 3 right-breast cancer. She also has a left-breast edema which is 6 mm smaller, but we don't know if it's also cancerous. She needs to undergo a biopsy and an MRI to find out.

As for the right breast, she has to undergo an operation followed by chemotherapy, and she needs to have a double operation if the left-side edema is also found to be cancerous.

Since Linda has no legal papers, she cannot benefit from any governmental services, so we need to cover all her medical fees including MRI, biopsy, operation, and chemotherapy in order to avoid metastasis.

We thank Dr. Mansour El Khoury for operating on Linda for free, and we thank the Wardieh Hospital for making a special discount for BASSMA.

June 26,2013: Linda's operation.

Her two children Bernard (12) and Marie-Rose (10) were supposed to stay with their uncle for two days, but under unfortunate circumstances, the uncle was not able to take care of them, and there was no one to stay with them.

So, BASSMA started searching for summer camps, but none of them started. Meanwhile, the children went with their mother to the hospital and they waited for her in the garden of the hospital.

Then, BASSMA found a very healthy family house near the office. The mother, a very kind lady, offered to host them at her house with her children for few days.

The day of their mother's operation, the children came to the office and enjoyed their time drawing and eating chocolate. BASSMA also provided them with clothes and entertained them during the day.

In the afternoon, we accompanied them to the woman's house where they found nothing but warmth and safety. It was one of the most emotional moments ever, we were moved by the strength of Linda's two kids: their courage, politeness and acceptance of their reality were astonishing! They immediately felt relaxed with the sweet lady and her children, but they remained anxious about the result of their mother's operation. We spoke with the doctor who reassured us about Linda's operation, telling us that Linda's tumors had spread to her arm but the doctor was able to remove it all.

Thanks to BASSMA's help and support, Linda underwent eightchemotherapy sessions over a period of 6months. The total cost was 6,000 USD including the medicines (Zofran, Neophore1g, Doxoribisine 50mg & 10mgx3).

Now, Linda is feeling much better and she's ready to work to help her family, and her children are going to school. Thanks to BASSMA's help and connections, Linda has found a job as a home companion elderly caregiving.

Therefore, BASSMA is happy to announce that our team has completely achieved its rehabilitation objectives with this family, metamorphosing their lives and drawing smiles on all its members' faces!