The story of Valeria Hristova
The story of my illness starts like this... I was only 31 years old.
The diagnosis of breast cancer definitely came to me as a bolt from the blue, but I wouldn't say it was that unexpected. Why? Well, below I will tell and describe how it all started for me. I don't remember very well, but besides the lump, a little white or clear fluid started flowing out of my breast from time to time, which bothered me and made me wonder if this was normal. I went to see a doctor who examined me with an ultrasound at our local hospital in the town. In 2013 I had an ultrasound at the hospital I visited in Etropole. After the examination he said it was a fatty formation which almost all women have it . I also went for a gynaecological examination with a doctor, also from Etropole, who I asked to examine me . She prescribed me to drink herbal tablets and to apply gel.
But the lump wasn't getting smaller, it was growing. After about 9-10 months I went to see a surgeon. After examining me he said it was strange what he was palpating because he wasn't palpating anything in the lymph nodes. He told me to go in the next day to have a biopsy done as well. The result came out - Malignant neoplasm. The doctor told me that I should make a quick decision and have surgery. And most likely, my breast would have to be removed. When I heard this, I couldn't believe it was true. I was alone when she told me, but my husband and my older son were nearby waiting for me.
We both decided to go to the surgeon and schedule a date for my surgery. My surgery was on 6/19/14, five hours long. The doctor said the surgery was successful, he had to remove the entire breast and all 21 lymph nodes as a precaution. And so my real torment began.
Due to the presence of newly appearing lesions in my bones, Zolledronate and Herceptin were included in my treatment. I was due to finish chemotherapy at the end of January 2015 but continued the bone medication.
They did a PET scan on me, where they noted in the result that there was something probably going to the brain. The neurosurgeon doctor looked at the result and said surgery should be done immediately.
We visited the organization "One of Eight" in Sofia. There a young gentleman gave me the card of Zvezdelina Lutfi from "Medical Karaj". He recommended me to contact her because she deals with patients like me. We contacted her immediately. She told us to go to her along with all the paperwork.
She turned out to be a beautiful young woman, friendly and inspiring, knowledgeable, familiar with the problems in hospitals and patients like me in need, she gave us a lot of courage and hope as we discussed my problem. She took my documents and sent them to the Turkish hospitals she works with. To this day, we have not paid for a single consultation with Zvezdi!
We chose Medical Park Hospital, which offered 25 days of treatment, with radiation, five scans included, blood tests, and consultations with doctors. All for about 8000 leva. The Stars team booked our hotel, organised everything. We went at the beginning of November.A car from the hospital was waiting for us at the bus station in Istanbul and took us straight to the hospital and I had the necessary tests and consultations. There was an interpreter with us. The doctors decided that my condition was suitable for a procedure with one of the newest techniques in the hospital, namely Tomotherapy - Radiation oncology examination or so called IMRT. They started with the 1st chemotherapy with Kadcyla 260 mg, an expensive drug. The amount was unaffordable for us to keep it up every 3 weeks. We managed to pay for the first 3 treatments in Turkey, the next courses I did in Bulgaria. And the people in Etropole helped us to raise money. I opened a donation account. And that's how the money was collected for part of my treatment. Without people's help we would not have made it!
...And so to this day. I am grateful to everyone for their support. It is very important. And to be able to find a person to give you hope of salvation like one of the angels God sent me -Stardelina Lutfi. Thanks to her and everyone else who keeps helping me!!!
Valeriya Georgieva Hristova, 39, gr. Etropole 2022
