Every day the foundation receives at least one new application for assistance; some days several. Over the last week the number of people receiving assistance from the foundation has grown significantly. Our board has approved nine new requests for assistance. People will be going into summer happier and with more hope.

A 51-year-old woman from Tartu is fighting a malignant ovarian tumour. We have been supporting her since December: 2700 euros has to be paid for a single box of tablets every month.

“I’ve been doing really well,” she smiles. “I have more strength and energy than before, and after a break I’m back at work, happier than ever. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing such much-needed work! I try to do my job well enough that I can hold on to the permanent donation for as long as possible and I ask all my friends who offer me support to do the same.”

The best news is that starting from 1 July, this lady's medicine will be paid for by the Health Insurance Fund instead of the foundation.

However, a 56-year-old woman from Tallinn has been given the same diagnosis: ovarian cancer. She needs the same medicine, but unfortunately for her specific diagnosis, the Health Insurance Fund will not cover the cost of the medicine. In other words, some patients obtain the drug and others do not. As such, this lady has no choice but to rely on the Cancer Treatment Foundation. And we will help her.

The third beneficiary is 63-year-old Igor Sokolov, who lives in Lasnamäe in Tallinn. He has kidney cancer. He feels that people who donate to charity deserve the utmost recognition. “I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to you for your decision to help me and for granting me these extra moments of life,” he says.

Igor's medicine costs 14,400 euros over the course of three months.

We are also helping an 84-year-old gentleman from Tallinn who is battling chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. His treatment costs even more: 19,100 euros over three months. The elderly gentleman himself is contributing 75 euros to his treatment.

For almost a year now we have been supporting a 63-year-old woman from Tartu in her fight against liver cancer, and we have just extended our help further. Be it a normal, emergency or special situation, each month we have paid a medical bill for the woman which has come to around twice the Estonian average salary. The lady previously wrote to us to say that the medicine she had obtained with the foundation’s help had halted the development of the disease. This positive situation continues to this day, and so she can now face the summer with joy and hope.

We have also extended our support for an 80-year-old gentleman by the name of Raik-Hiio Mikelsaar. A medical scientist, molecular biologist and professor emeritus of the University of Tartu, he has been fighting kidney cancer with the support of donors from the Cancer Treatment Foundation since September 2019. A three-month course of treatment costs 12,400 euros.

His wife Marika writes that Raik-Hiio is in good spirits and cherishes every day, every new morning and every peaceful night.

“We truly thank the foundation’s donors for having such big hearts and for showing such care,” she writes. “The previous course of treatment my husband underwent with the help of the Cancer Treatment Foundation was very successful. This autumn, it will be six years since Raik-Hiio was diagnosed with advanced cancer. He is able to take care of himself, moves from inside out to the veranda in our country house using a walker, rests there on a comfy sofa and admires the beauty of spring and summer, the smell of the lilacs, the birdsong.

He reads all of the newspapers and magazines we get, listens to Vikerraadio all day long, watches ETV programmes and bandies words with us endlessly. The coronavirus quarantine has worked well for us: it’s been nice being on our own and staying in close contact with our children and grandchildren, albeit from a distance, of course. They’re very caring.”

We are also continuing to support 44-year-old Marika Heimola (pictured with her son and husband). We have been helping her since February to ward off the effects of thyroid cancer. For someone who once had a constant need for an oxygen mask and who had to take strong painkillers all the time, she is feeling better and better all the time. In April, Marika wrote to say that she had found her positivity again: her breathing had improved and she needed her oxygen mask less often.

Now, she says, she only keeps the mask close just in case. “If I can, I try to go without it at home, when I’m cooking or doing simple chores,” she explains. “Sometimes I have to rest, of course, lay down for a moment and take a breath. And when I go to the store with my son or husband, I always have the oxygen equipment with me in the car. But during the last few trips, I haven't even needed extra oxygen in the car straight away.

Wherever possible, I try to be outside. I do the gardening as best I can. The treatment has had a really positive effect over the last few months. And all thanks to your support!”

A 63-year-old man from Tallinn has been granted peace of mind by the foundation in connection with obtaining a drug for a hepatocellular carcinoma. Three months of treatment costs 15,300 euros, of which the man himself is covering 2000 euros.

We have also started supporting Hans Ulmiste, 53, in his fight against kidney cancer. We published Hans' letter of thanks on the foundation's Facebook page earlier this week.

For all of this we thank the foundation's supporters, donors and friends.

The next person in need of help from the foundation could be anyone: someone in your family, a colleague or a friend.

How good it is then to be able to say: fortunately there is a Cancer Treatment Foundation! It means that hope does not die and there remains a chance to live.

Become a regular donor, even with a small amount!