appeal, Completed Appeals

Help Salima beat cancer

UPDATE – £10,500 has been raised for Salima. Thank you very much to all who donated and supported this appeal!


Salima Tsechoeva

Date of birth: 9 December 2017

Diagnosis: Neuroblastoma

With your help Gift of Life is hoping to raise £10,500 for a targeted radiation therapy for 3-year-old Salima.


Three-year-old Salima Tsechoeva from Nazran is being treated for neuroblastoma in a Moscow clinic supported by Gift of Life. Neuroblastoma is an extremely dangerous tumour that generally targets babies and young children. Salima fell ill in November 2020. It all started with signs of a common cold, but a more detailed examination unfortunately showed the presence of a tumour in the adrenal gland.

Since December, Salima has been undergoing treatment at one of the leading hospitals in Russia. She has already had several courses of chemotherapy followed by surgery, but although the tumour has shrunk it has not disappeared. Salima now faces an even more difficult treatment – high-dose chemo- and MIBG-therapy, which is a targeted radiation therapy.

Radioactive iodine to save Salima

Salima needs a medicine called 131I-MIBG – radioactive iodine. Accumulating in neuroblastoma cells, it irradiates them from the inside. In cases like Salima’s, this therapy significantly improves treatment outcomes. Both the doctors and Salima’s family are hoping for success. This treatment could be her last chance.

Unfortunately, radioactive iodine is not registered in Russia, and the state does not pay for such therapy. But the medicine can be ordered from abroad thanks to Gift of Life supporters. The cost of the medicine for Salima is £10,500 – or about 2,5 years’ salary of an ordinary Russian. Salima’s parents simply cannot afford this treatment on their own and we ask you to help them and Gift of Life to save Salima.

Donate now and give Salima a chance to beat cancer!