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Hanaa with her late brother Hamza.
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By Faheem Al-Hamid
JEDDAH — The sister of Hamza Iskandar, the Saudi youth who fought cancer with a smile till he died of bronchitis, is now fighting her own battle with sarcoma (a cancerous tumor of connective or other nonepithelial tissue).
“My 25-year-old brother Hamza was cured of cancer, but died of bronchitis related complications because of hospital neglect and mishandling. He, however, passed on a legacy to me that I will carry on,” said 24-year-old Hanaa Iskandar.
“My brother fought cancer with a smile and I will do the same,” said Hanaa, who often wanders into her brother’s room and rearranges his stuff.
“I imagine him sitting at his couch. I talk to myself as if I am talking to him. The tears still flow down my face. I look at his countless trophies that he won from his cancer fighting campaigns. I have to be strong for my family. My dad and my brother Mohammad are still in shock at the loss,” said Hanaa.
“My family is going through a lot emotionally and financially. They just lost a son to cancer and they will have to go through the trauma of chemotherapy all over again and the possibility of losing me also. Not to mention that hospital bills are expensive,” she said.
“I will have to go to the United States for my treatment. I need to go through four chemotherapy sessions before returning to Saudi Arabia to continue my treatment. I will be taking doses of a new type of medication called Lartruvo to replace chemotherapy,” said Hanaa, adding that she will be the first Saudi woman to ever take this treatment.
Last October, the US Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to Lartruvo (olaratumab) with doxorubicin to treat adults with certain types of soft tissue sarcoma (STS), which are cancers that develop in muscles, fat, tendons or other soft tissues.
“This medicine is only available in a hospital in Texas. I don’t want to go back to chemotherapy. My family is waiting for the Ministry of Health to renew my medical treatment grant to go to Texas,” said Hanaa, whose brother Hamza died last month after battling cancer for five years.
Last conversation
Hamza’s father said he remembers the last conversation he had with his son.
“He was telling me: ‘Dad, hurry up. I can’t breathe anymore. I am too tired.’ Once we reached a hospital, we found that it was closed and they wouldn’t take my son in. My son then told me: ‘Dad, it’s too late. I’m gonna die.’ I told him we’re not too late, it’s death that has come early. And I saw his eyes close. He was able to recite the Shahadah before he died,” said the father.
Hamza’s mother today carries the fight starter by her son. She says, they will fight cancer with a smile.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/saudi-youth-loses-battle-cancer/
