Constanza Guerra Parada: Chilean student booked an appointment with the dentist to check out her sore gums. The diagnosis was much worse International student's life in disarray after health shock Cancer diagnosis came from innocuous symptoms READ MORE: I went to the doctor thinking I just needed my gall bladder removed By Max Aldred For Daily Mail Australia Published: 16:23 BST, 25 August 2024 | Updated: 16:39 BST, 25 August 2024 e-mail View comments 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 bruises on her limbs, fevers and fatigue in late July but brushed them 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 finally took herself to a dentist. She was told her inflammation was unusual and was sent to a GP for blood tests. Two days later, Ms Guerra Parada, or Connie, was admitted to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where doctors delivered the crushing news that she had acute myeloid leukemia.
The shock diagnosis rocked Ms Guerra Parada as she began 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 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. Read More BREAKING NEWS Beloved celebrity chef Maggie Beer, 79, rushed to hospital after horror accident ‘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 and had planned to return to Australia for her second semester of studies.
Ms Becerra Quezada said her friend struggled to find a way to tell her family she wouldn’t be able to see them. ‘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,' Ms Becerra Quezada 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.
Her student 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 keeps her visa, Ms Guerra Parada will need to pay out-of-pocket for the greater part of her treatment. Her insurance here in Australia means roughly a fifth of her total treatment will be covered here.
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. Sydney Share or comment on this article: Constanza Guerra Parada: Chilean student booked an appointment with the dentist to check out her sore gums.
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