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Hello, my name is Karthik K and I am a 25 year old, just started my career as an Engineer. I had always considered myself a healthy individual until one day I was diagnosed with a serious and aggressive form of cancer, Lymphoma.
Until summer of 2018, life was pretty perfect for me. I was happily getting ready to show my endowments in my career as a new aspiring engineer at Bengaluru. That’s when I suddenly started experiencing shortness of breath and terrible itching. I still remember, I cried and cried and prayed God, “Help me, Take this pain away”. My entire life stopped in an instant. When given the news of my Hodgkin’s lymphoma, all I could think and say was “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die”. Those five words continuously poured out of my mouth over and over again. At just 23 years old, my life had instantly been turned upside down. For the last 18 months of my life, I've been combating this illness.
Since the time it was discovered after a biopsy, I've had multiple CT scans, MRI scans and PET scans, numerous blood tests, multiple intense rounds of chemotherapy (4 cycles of ABVD, 2 cycles of ICE and 2 cycles of Gemcite+docetere). I spent the next six months in and out of the hospital. In those months, I learned what it really means to fight for your life. In just over six months, I had gone from being carefree to being someone who required a caregiver. But despite of my strength, my belief and my hope, my cancer was adamant and was not responding to any of these therapies. With Hodgkin’s being a cancer type cured in about 90 percent of patients, mine is for sure, exceptionally unlucky, having a cancer that might turn out to be more stubborn than myself. I started asking God “why me"? I hated seeing my parents cry. My world crumbled again.
But I never gave up, even when I was scared. My body and mind were in constant survival mode. Then I questioned the Lymphoma “Hi you might take my physical abilities, but not my mind or heart or my soul". I started radiation therapy with new immunotherapy. I started showing improvement. I started slowly responding to the therapy. My dreams became alive. But being from a lower middle class family, money is getting tighter and tighter. I need an immunotherapy (an alternative treatment that attacks the cells differently than chemo) for another 12 months and later stem cell transplant. Each month I need two doses of Nivolumab which costs around Rs 2.5 lakhs (3500 US dollars).
I want to get through this and go on to have a beautiful life. I want to keep my dreams alive. Please help me to fight this. Nothing can be done without your support, love and compassion. I am blessed to have many great things in life – my family and friends like you.
Anything you can donate will be truly appreciated. Everything you can do to help and surround me with love is what is most important so I can focus on beating this thing. Please spread the Word.
“Please, be my hero”
"Because of your care, I have a long life ahead of me"
Thank you from the bottom of my hearts.
