Hi, my name is Bethelihem Gebre Alwab, a mother of two boys, currently in critical condition with brain tumors that have been aggressively growing. I am fundraising to treat metastatic brain cancer at Hope4Cancer in Tijuana, Mexico, an institution with 20 years of history in reversing the diagnosis of no-chance-for-survival-cancer-patients with integrative and alternative cancer treatment.

Though my oncologist told me my cancer has no cure and is difficult to treat by conventional cancer methods, my husband, children, relatives, friends, brothers and sisters have faith in God, and giving up is not an option. We are determined to go to the Integrative and Alternative Cancer Treatment Center. I am committed to defying my oncologist’s expectations for the sake of my two sons, my family and my friends. You will learn from my story below that I had defied many odds before and survived. I know that the impossible is possible.

The treatment is expensive, US$ 35 000 – $50,000. My insurance company doesn’t cover healthcare costs for alternative therapies and fees outside its country of origin. My family’s financial conditions (I am not working at all as I am sick) also make this possibility appear out of reach. The only way I can make the impossible possible is by asking for help from anyone who can help me. I firmly believe that I will beat it again as I have beat cancer before.

My Story

First Round with Cancer

In September 2009, I was first diagnosed with breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 3) in Ethiopia. It was devastating news for my family and me, and we cried the whole day as my goals and aspirations were huge. But then we decided to fight against it. I underwent surgery (mastectomy and reconstruction), six cycles of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapy (5 years of tamoxifen) until April 2016 at Black lion Hospital. I was miraculously doing well, much quicker than I imagined.

In 2016, the Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB) of the University of Antwerp (VLIR-UOS scholarship) admitted me to the Advanced Master of Science in Governance and Development for 2016-2017, so I came to Belgium. I was so happy that I got the scholarship and was admitted to the advanced master's program.

Second Round with Cancer

Here came another challenging time in October 2016 I started to cough. I thought it was due to the weather change, so I went to the hospital. I heard the bad news that breast cancer has metastasis to my lung. It was overwhelming to me, and I shared the information with only my husband, my sister, a friend and Registration/Student office – Social service as I wanted to continue my life attending the class as usual. I am not the kind of person who is broken by such hardship; instead, I am resilient, which empowers me to accept and adapt to the situations and move forward. So I continued attending the class as usual, while in December 2016, I started chemotherapy and hormonal therapy (Tamoxifen and Zoladex). Thanks to the social service of Antwerp University (Greet Annaert), I brought my family (my husband and kids) to Belgium, and they helped me as much as they could during my fight against cancer. Incredibly, I finished my study by getting an award for my outstanding result and dissertation. I also got and started another scholarship in the framework of the valorization of my dissertation. I correspondingly began to work as a Qualitative data Coder using MAXQDA2018 for Overseas Development Institute (ODI/GAGE). In May 2017, I heard the good news that there is a complete response from the treatment. That means my lung is free of metastases cancer. I, my family and a close friend were so happy that my life was very much back to normal and we celebrated that day a lot.

Third Round with Cancer

However, in March 2020, I started to feel dizzy, had severe headaches, and could not work. I went to the hospital, and my oncologist sent me to MRI SCAN to diagnose my brain, and it is brain metastases (4 lesions with edema), putting pressure on my brain. My oncologist told me I have a short life expectancy, and I have to go through whole-brain radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy as soon as possible. I felt sad, angry, and afraid and told my husband and brother. Then we opted for alternative treatments and radiotherapy. After the radiotherapy, the tumors were stable for one year. But I have started to feel the symptoms like dizziness, seizure, numbness, and an inability to concentrate. The MRI SCAN has shown that the tumor has been aggressively growing, and my oncologist told me it has no cure and is difficult to treat by conventional cancer standards. We are so Sad, but we do not give up and believe there is hope. That is why we have searched for alternative treatments and found that there are many better treatment options. Though it is expensive, the testimonies of the direst cases that reach and stay in remission through their alternative treatments are many; the center makes the impossible possible.

My family greatly appreciates any support and prayer and is hugely thankful for everyone who has cared for our family during this time!

More information about treatment here: https://hope4cancer.com/