Support my Mom as She Begins Her Treatment for Stage 3 Tongue Cancer
My mom Khurshid has been diagnosed with Stage 3 tongue cancer. As I write this, she’s preparing for a partial glossectomy, neck dissection to remove many of the lymph nodes in her neck, removal of some muscle on the side of one jaw and subsequent radiation treatment (& potential chemotherapy) in the coming months. The journey is going to be a difficult one.
As her son, I’ll be prioritizing her care & will be there for her for every step of treatment (& care for her during her recovery time at home) This will take a few months & I’ll have to take a little time away from work to make sure her journey is a healing one that hopefully leads to her being cancer-free and able to resume all her activities by the fall.
Things are complicated in that my brother Salim has Stage 4 Liver Cirrhosis & will need a liver transplant to survive. We’ve been searching for almost three years for a living liver donor for him and the longer the delay, his odds for survival go down. We’ve been doing our best to take care of his rent, food & medication, but now we’re also facing a long journey for my mom now, not just medically but financially.
We’re raising money for her care, hoping that by taking care of my mom’s costs when it comes to treatment & subsequent therapy, we have more time to work to support my brother as well in finding a living liver donor to save his life.
As mentioned I’ll be the primary caregiver for my mom, so every cent that helps her allows me to work more for both of them.
So you’re not just helping her, but our entire family as well.
Click on the link below to donate & let’s hope that with your support & the care she receives, her treatment will be successful, in part, because of your help.
With love,
rahim
$930 of $10,000 goal raised, as of September 27th 2026.
Updates
September 27th, 2026
A few weeks ago, my mom had her partial glossectomy (removal of part of her tongue) & had 57 lymph nodes removed from the left side her neck (7 which turned out to be cancerous) Radiation treatment begins on Monday September 28th, five days a week, for two months.
Unfortunately, we found out that a new tumor had emerged on the other side of her neck, just above her collarbone & there’s definitely evidence of growths on both side of her neck, including where the 57 lymph nodes were removed, so the radiation schedule will expand & the dosage may be higher. Chemotherapy & other treatments beyond the radiation may be required, as will additional surgery.
Things are going to get really rough 2-3 weeks into radiation treatment, as this is where you’ll start seeing mouth ulceration and damage to her ability to produce saliva. It’s been a bit of a challenge the first few weeks after surgery for her to speak with clarity & to eat (she’s still on a liquid diet & has lost a lot of weight because of it) We’re fortunate that we have an exceptional staff of individuals looking after her at Princess Margaret & Mount Sinai Hospital, but the progress she’s made in terms of speaking & eating is going to see a setback.
The schedule of treatments also means I’ll have to take time away from any work as we’ll be at the hospital daily. Considering we live about 45 minutes to an hour away from the hospital means at least two hours will be in transit plus the time spent for treatment & therapy. The doctors have been nice enough to tell me that I’ve been very helpful to the process of her recovery & that her best chance of not just survival, but a good quality of life beyond treatment, is to have me there for the next 2-3 months.
So the fundraiser is important as I do need time to look after her for the rest of 2026. I need your help to help her & even in a country with universal healthcare, it can be pretty expensive not just managing her care but also paying the bills at this time, so I encourage you to donate or spread the word.
I’ll post her radiation treatment schedule up this week - if you’re interested in coming by for a hello at the hospital while we’re at treatment (if you live in the Toronto area) I know both of us would love to see you as we move to the next part of this journey.