What was supposed to be a routine dental check-up for international student Constanza Guerra Parada has become a life-changing ordeal.
The young Sydney-based Chilean, 31, first noticed unusual bruises on her limbs, and suffered from fevers and fatigue in late July but brushed the symptoms off, thinking they were due to her work as a cleaner.
When she was unable to eat due to the inflammation in her gums, Ms Guerra Parada booked an appointment with a dentist.
She was told her inflammation was unusual and was sent to a GP for blood tests and a biopsy of her palate.
Two days later, Ms Guerra Parada, known as Connie to her friends, was told to get to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital as soon as possible, where doctors delivered the crushing news that she had acute myeloid leukemia and would need to start chemotherapy almost immediately.
Fellow Chilean Isidora Becerra Quezada, 24, is not only one of Ms Guerra Parada’s closest friends but also one of her few lifelines in Australia.
‘I know that her treatment to fight cancer will be a long and hard process, and I will be beside her every step of the way,’ she wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help her friend.
Constanza Guerra Parada is in the fight of her life after she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
‘Unfortunately, she is not with her family since she decided to come to Australia to strengthen her professional skills, but due to circumstances this dream will vanish.’
Just a week before the shock diagnosis, Ms Guerra Parada had booked a holiday to visit her family back home before second semester studies resumed.
Ms Becerra Quezada said her friend struggled to find a way to tell her family she wouldn’t be able to see them due to the shock diagnosis.
‘First, she told her brother about her illness so that he could help her tell her mother,’ Ms Becerra Quezada told 7news.com.au.
The family is now saving up to travel to Australia and help care for Ms Guerra Parada.
‘Currently, she is all alone,’ her friend wrote online.
Best friend Isidora Becerra Quezada (right) has rallied around her best friend Connie
She added that her friend has been severely weakened by the treatment.
‘The medications and chemotherapy are not showing good results … first, it started with an allergic reaction all over her skin, and now it is infected by something because the antibiotics are not having much of an effect, either,’ Ms Becerra Quezada wrote.
Ms Guerra Parada doesn’t have the luxury of focusing on her recovery either with her treatment clouded by financial and international complications.
She has been living in Australia since March 2023 on a student visa with work restrictions of 24 hours a week
Her visa requires she attend all her classes, but that appears impossible.
Ms Guerra Parada will need official approval of a deferral of studies from her school to stay legally in the country.
However, it has been years since Ms Guerra Parada lived in Chile, so she doesn’t have insurance to cover her treatment there either.
‘For her safety, we would prefer that this process be finished in Australia,’ Ms Becerra Quezada said.
Ms Guerra Parada went to a dentist with concerns about her gums but was referred to her GP
Even if she can stay in Australia, Ms Guerra Parada will need to pay hefty out-of-pocket costs as her insurance only covers covers the first six weeks of treatment and hospital cover.
Doctors estimate it will take six to eight months to recover if the chemotherapy is successful.
‘With help … she will be able to fight cancer in better conditions and be able to be with her family in this very sad and challenging time,’ Ms Becerra Quezada wrote on the fundraiser.
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