Dear friends and compatriots,

My name is Dr. Enko Kiprilov and I am writing this on behalf of my cousin Joro Tolev, 32, with whom I grew up in Bulgaria. Nearly 20 years ago Joro and I separated since I moved to the US with my family in the pursuit of better life, like many of us did.

Tragically, Joro was recently diagnosed with aggressive oral cancer (squamous cell carcinoma of the bucal mucosa), which quickly spread to several lymph nodes in his neck and skin. Despite two radical head and neck surgeries followed by several cycles of high level radiation therapy, his disease persisted. After exhausting every treatment modality in Bulgaria without much success and in the face of progressive disease, Joro and his family

decided to look for hope abroad to the famous Gustav Rossi Cancer Institute in Paris where he may be able to receive the latest treatments available for oral cancer.
Unfortunately, his therapy and stay there are extremely expensive, even for US standards, let alone Bulgarian, amounting to several hundred euros per day and presenting an insurmountable challenge for his family who has been nearly bankrupt already from the burden of the mounting medical expenses.

Before I ask for your help, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself so you get a better idea of the situation and the perspective of the person writing this. I finished my high school education in New York and then moved to Boston for 7 years where I studied at Harvard University for my Bachelor's degree and worked at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on vaccine development for HIV and cancer. I then moved back to New York City to study medicine and complete my MD and PhD degrees on Stem Cell biology. I am currently doing my residency in Surgical Pathology in the University of California and am continuing my research work on developing Stem Cell treatments for different types of cancers and currently untreatable diseases.

The irony of it all is that I, as a doctor and a scientist working on the cutting edge of developing novel cancer therapies, can do very little to help my cousin at this stage and hope that if more people read about his struggle for life, he may very well have a chance to get the treatments which may save his life and give him what we all often take for granted - health. I am not simply writing this because he is my cousin and my friend but also because all of us came here to look for better and happier life and we should not forget those who never had the chance and opportunity to do the same, or simply had the misfortune to get sick in Bulgaria. This is a responsibility that may be too heavy for any one of us, but together, by helping just a little, we can make a big difference in a young man's life. Thanks very much in advance to all of you and I can only wish that none of us have to ever be put in a similar situation, but if we are, that we can count on each other for help and hope.   
 
I have initiated this urgent fundraising campaign to help raise money so he can continue his treatment. Please remember that no donation is too small.

If you would like to contribute to our campaign, you can make your payment by credit card through PayPal from the following link.

Best,

Enko Kiprilov
For more info contact me at: kiprilov@post.harvard.edu

P.S. I am also including a translation of his medical history and diagnosis, should anyone need more information or have suggestions or other input.

MEDICAL HISTORY - click here >>

Thanks again!

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