Thyroid cancer patient so close to recovery

Ahmed Al Sayed does not have health insurance and cannot afford to pay for the remainder of his treatment – Dh70,000.

Ahmed Sayed, an egyptian living in Sharjah, is battling thyroid cancer and has no health insurance. Anna Nielsen for The National.

ABU DHABI // Ahmed Al Sayed is on his last course of treatment for thyroid cancer. After more than a year of chemotherapy, the Egyptian has a few weeks left of radiotherapy to be cancer free.

“I found out I had thyroid cancer last year,” the 25-year-old says. “I’ve come a long way and I am almost recovered.

“My body was swollen and I was tired but now I am much better.”

But Mr Al Sayed does not have health insurance and cannot afford to pay for the remainder of his treatment – Dh70,000.

“I am very grateful and thankful to God that I have come so far already,” he said.

When he was diagnosed, Mr Al Sayed said that the lump near his collar bone was much larger.

He was first told that he had an inflammation and that the lump was not cancerous.

“I was sent to several hospitals in Dubai and Sharjah. At first, they told me it was nothing, but the lump was getting larger and it was painful,” he says.

After several months, doctors confirmed that it was cancer but by then it had developed to an advanced stage.

Mr Al Sayed is an only child and kept the news from many members of his family.

“I only told my father a few months ago and he got very ill afterwards. I regret telling them and I don’t want them to worry about me,” he says.

Mr Al Sayed began working as a salesman in Sharjah in 2014 to support his elderly parents. He earns less than Dh2,000 a month.

“Since I’ve fallen ill, my relationship with God is stronger and he has opened many doors for me and my parents. My parents are also going on a pilgrimage for the first time and we are all thankful to God, he says.

Mr Al Sayed did not take his last radiotherapy session because he could not afford it. He has fewer than three weeks of radiotherapy remaining. If he does not resume his treatment, the cancer will return, doctors warn.

Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of social services at Dar Al Ber Society, said Mr Al Sayed has fought the disease bravely, only to run out of money when recovery is within his reach.

“It would be very unfortunate if Mr Sayed cannot continue his treatment,” he says.

“We and other charities have covered the cost of his chemotherapy and some of the radiotherapy. But we need donations to raise Dh70,000 to pay for the remaining sessions of radiotherapy.”