I am Fathieh Saudi. I am 61 years old. I was born in Jordan and I am British citizen. I was trained as a medical doctor in France and worked as a paediatrician mainly in Jordan and Lebanon with refugees and disadvantaged children. My salary never exceeded 500 pounds a month. My journey through life has been rather difficult, rich, challenging, and with a lot of stress. I suffered from a viral disease - poliomyelitis - in my childhood and kept some physical muscular weakness. This marked my whole life and pushed me to seek education and even to become a doctor. I wanted to prove to my family and society that “I can”...women with my condition could end up with no education or normal social life.

Furthermore over the last ten years I have jad to face tremendous health challenges as I went through post polio syndrome and later on had major surgery in my neck for compressed nerves and in my previously good left shoulder for a ruptured tendon.

Over recent years I have found writing to be a valuable healing tool - I began to write poetry and also my memoirs. It helped me to reach a better understanding of my journey through life, to come to terms with my past and to maintain hope for the future. I have already published some of my work or translations and i hope to publish two new collections of poetry through a mainstream publisher. I also opted to volunteer with a number of charities: principally the Migrant Resource Centre; Hammersmith Women’s Aid; Exiled Writers Ink; English PEN, Universal Peace federation and the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Why I am asking for help
In 2007 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and received treatment consisting of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Some three years later, in August 2010, I woke up one day with severe chest pain, it turned out to be a metastatic lung cancer in my left lung. I was treated with intensive chemotherapy using 3 drugs (one of which was a trial drug); and later with surgery. I spent a wonderful few months. But in September 2011 I was shocked, frightened and devastated to be told that my lung cancer wasn’t cured, the tumour seemed to be resistant to most conventional chemotherapies.

Overall I have been coping well up to now. I am so grateful to the NHS and my doctors for the excellent care and treatments I received, they have kept me alive since then. But now I feel rather too weak to undergo new trials of chemotherapy.

Interestingly I just came to understand that the polio virus creates a chronic inflammation in the body, which reduces the immunity system, and is closely related to cancer.

My last option is to benefit from integrated cancer treatments (introducing complementary and alternative medicine) - this is the hope I have for another chance of survival.

The treatment I would like to have access to
I am launching this appeal because I can’t afford the high cost of treatment myself. The treatments are not yet available through NHS. At present I live on a basic pension, in a rented flat / housing association , and have no possessions to sell. I am divorced and have no children.

I have long had an interest in the field of Integrated Therapies and Body/Mind connections. I have adopted many recommendations such as a diet of fresh vegetables, fruits and juices; supplements; and stress management. There has been some amazing and valuable research into these therapies carried out by renowned doctors.

Note from the integrated therapies specialist: “The main factor in your previous history is post-polio syndrome, leading to a chronic fatigue syndrome, which relates to dealing with chronic low-grade infections all of your life. From a conventional point of view you are reaching the end of conventional approaches which might be effective.  In order to improve your median survival, and if you did this you might possibly do really well.”


Fathieh meets Prince William

-Sonodynamic Photodynamic Therapy (SPDT)
Photodynamic therapy is the use of light sensitive substances, which accumulate selectively in diseased cells and this initiates cellular destruction. Sonodynamic Therapy is the use of low-level ultrasound and this produces cellular destruction from the non-thermal effects of ultra sound, especially cavitations in diseased cells.

Cost for course of 6 sessions over 2 weeks: £9,950

-Intravenous vitamin C
Cancer is greedy and grabs at any available sugar or glucose. This is where the vitamin C works; it dissolves the cancer cell from the inside

Cost for course of 15 sessions over 3 weeks: £ 6,660

-Circulating Tumour Cells tests
Advanced technique to monitor recurrent cancer and to define the efficient treatments in resisting cancers.

Cost for full test £1,600

-Medical follow-up, supplements and medication
Approx £7- - £100 per month for 2 years

Total Cost £1700 - £2400 for 2 years

I need your help
Thank you for reading my appeal. It is difficult to take this approach and ask for your help. Any amount you are able donate, however small, will be greatly appreciated and valued.



Fathieh has a JustGiving page set up to collect money through the charity Yes to Life. All donations made through this page will be used to help fund her treatment. Please click here if you would like to donate.

Just Giving

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure, and donations can be made from anywhere in the world. It's also the most efficient way to contribute: Yes to Life gets your money faster and, if you're a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure an extra 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, is added to your donation.

To help Yes to Life support Fathieh with her treatment costs click here.


2 POEMS BY FATHIEH

No good time for death

Death is always sudden, tragic,
even when it takes a hundred years.

Some deaths are graceful, like a ballet dancer
others are fearful, like a Medusa’s face.

Some deaths we walk towards consciously
some unconsciously as in a dream.

Some we rush towards at the speed of light,
at other times we crawl tortoise-like towards them.

Some deaths we dress in rainbow colours,
others frighten and torture us.

Perhaps you may die
and no one will hear about it.

Or maybe you will pass away
with tenderness surrounding you.

Once in a while we die
in the silence of the self.

Some deaths we live before their time.
There is never a good time for death to come.



Timelessness

He shaved the remains of my hair, laughed,
said my bald head looked nice, as
perfectly spherical as mother earth.

He selected a honey-coloured wig for me.
My wig suits my head
perfectly. Named Timeless.

I was born in a world of time,
in my cancer I am freed. How
can I measure the passing of the hours?

Living in a timeless world
the layers of fear dissipate
the burden of the future dissolves.

O I adore my fresh bald head.