Wednesday 6th August 2014 – 2.25pm – Claire Brown.
A Birmingham paramedic is on a mission to raise £13,000 to help a friend with terminal cancer receive vital treatment to prolong her life.
Maya Black, a paramedic from Aston Hub, will be running in the Bupa Great Birmingham Run in October and hopes to raise £13,000 for a new treatment to prolong the life of her friend, Rabina Aslam.
Rabina, a 34-year-old mother of one, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in October and was given a life expectancy of less than two years.
After enduring six aggressive chemotherapy treatments, the tumours continue to grow and her only hope now is a new cancer treatment. The NanoKnife treatment, a technique which destroys soft tissue tumours with the use of an electrical current, is not available on the NHS and costs around £13,000.
Maya, 30 from Harborne, has known Rabina for four years and has been tirelessly fundraising. In her first week, she raised a staggering £7,300. Maya said: “Rabina works for the NHS and has dedicated the past 10 years of her life to caring for sick and injured people in A&Es across Birmingham. Nothing is ever too much for her when it comes to patients. I know personally that her diagnosis has devastated not only her family but also her work colleagues.
“The treatment may not cure the cancer but it could give her more time to spend with her five-year-old son, Armaan, who is the centre of her world. If we can give them another few years together then we have achieved something that is almost a miracle.
“Unfortunately we do not have time as the tumours are continuing to grow. The quicker we raise the funds the quicker Rabina will receive the treatment. It doesn’t have to be much; you could sacrifice the cost of your daily Costa or takeaway lunch. Every penny will make a difference.”
To donate, please visit: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/0pUT3?utm_campaign=share-campaign&utm_medium=email&utm_source=07-2014.
ENDS