Two rare diagnoses and one life on the edge of endurance❗Help Justyna❗

Silence after the results

November 2023 was supposed to be an ordinary month. A routine blood test, performed almost reflexively. Instead of an answer, there was silence, heavy and long. The family doctor was speechless. The word "polycythemia" was uttered almost immediately, and then everything happened quickly and without asking for consent. DILO card. Hematologists. Dozens of tests. More and more offices where no one could say where this disease came from or where it was leading.

Polycythemia vera is a cancer of the bone marrow in which the body produces too many blood cells, thickening the blood and significantly increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and blood clots. It does not always produce clear symptoms. Often, it simply saps your strength. It robbed Justyna of her sense of security. Over time, she lost the veins that could be used for injections. The mere thought of a needle brought tears to her eyes. The diagnosis is still ongoing, although the diagnosis has already been made.

Second strike

When his body and mind were already extremely exhausted, fate dealt him another blow. In March 2025, during further tests, a second, extremely rare tumor was detected. A paraganglioma in the retroperitoneal space.

It was a tumor that should not have been biopsied. And yet it was biopsied. First without anesthesia, under CT guidance. Then again, in Warsaw, under anesthesia. The needle pierced her body three times in a place Justyna didn't even know existed. The pain lingered for a long time. The results came in November. Decent. The National Institute of Oncology decided to monitor the situation.

And this is where the system plan ends.

Life in suspense

Justyna lives in a state of constant readiness. Blood tests every month. Bloodletting when the parameters become dangerous. Hirudotherapy, which she had to stop due to the costs. Biopsies, hospitalizations, consultations. There are weeks when she visits the doctor every day, and in between she tries to work, cook, go to the movies, and be there for her loved ones.

In summer, her body rebels particularly strongly. Fainting spells, rashes, swelling, a feeling as if her blood were thickening in her veins. Sometimes she feels pain throughout her whole body, as if glass shards were circulating in every vein. Sometimes anger rises as if her body were about to explode from within. And sometimes all she feels is fatigue. Heavy. Lead-like.

Costly independence

Justyna has no support from her parents. She lost contact with them during her illness, when she needed them most. She lives with her partner and two cats in a rented apartment in Łódź. It is her only safe haven. Rent takes up more than half of her salary. Her savings have been depleted by private tests, consultations, and commuting. A mortgage is no longer a realistic option. Neither is insurance.

She began to fall ill shortly after taking her dream job at an international pharmaceutical company. She was appreciated, had real prospects for development and promotion. However, her illness gradually began to affect her professional stability. Not the quality of her work or her commitment, but her ability to plan for further development on the same terms and with the same resources as healthy people.

Periodic hospitalizations and treatment halted processes that had previously been natural, and the accompanying uncertainty became another silent burden during therapy.

Between silence and fear

Mentally, Justyna is on the brink. She needs regular therapy and help to stay strong so she can keep searching. Keep fighting for hope. Her body is falling apart, as if everything were connected by a thin, breaking thread.

What hurts the most is the loss of plans, of a life that was already almost within reach. The thought of children who were supposed to arrive, and now are a great unknown. The silence in an apartment where little feet no longer run around. The feeling that the future has been snatched from your hands.

Help needed

Transportation to medical appointments. Ongoing psychological care. Coverage of basic living expenses when treatment and weakness prevent normal functioning.

This is not a fundraiser for comfort. It is a fundraiser for time, peace of mind, and the opportunity to continue searching for a solution. For a magnifying glass that will help find a needle in a haystack. To rebuild the sense of security that fate has brutally taken away.