Diagnosis: Soft tissue sarcoma
Martina's recovery is taking longer than expected – We need help
This is us:
Frida, Martina, Christoph, Anton, and David. Our lives have been turned upside down since Martina was diagnosed with cancer. Now we need your support until she is healed and strong again.
Read our whole story here and share it with everyone you know. Ideally, you can actively contribute to Martina's recovery with your donation.
Who are we and what happened?
Everything changed overnight
We, Martina (46) and I, Christoph (56), have been living in Paraguay with our three children since 2022. We are in the process of establishing a new life here. Until now, it has felt like living in Bullerbü in South America. Martina was there for the children around the clock – with school, leisure activities, gardening, housework, shopping, and everything else that goes with it. She had also just started to build up her own business. Meanwhile, I was writing articles full-time to earn a living. Every day, we enjoyed the quiet country life and the warmth of our neighbors. But suddenly, at the end of May 2025, Martina's serious cancer diagnosis turned our whole family life upside down overnight.
The situation today
A biopsy revealed that Martina has soft tissue sarcoma in her right thigh, which causes her severe pain. Even after more than five months of treatment, she can barely walk (only a few steps on crutches) and is dependent on my care day and night. At first, I took on all her tasks in addition to my job. But in the long run, I realized that I had to sleep sometime. I was completely exhausted. It was no longer possible to juggle caregiving, children, household chores, and work, so I cut back on my assignments.
Money is running out
In recent months, our families and friends have given us a lot of support. But their resources and possibilities are limited in the long run. There is no government assistance in Paraguay—except that basic medical care is free.
Now our financial situation is critical, because I don't even have the time or energy for a “normal part-time job.” Everything revolves around care, doctor's visits, childcare, cooking, housework, shopping, etc.
We will probably not only have to compensate for my loss of earnings for further months, but also cover the high costs of treatment, travel, and care. Without your help, we will not be able to continue Martina's recovery.
What is Martina's life situation?
A passionate mother
When Anton was born, Martina withdrew from professional life to focus entirely on her role as a mother. Today, our three children are 12, 10, and 8 years old, and Martina had just started to build up her own business on the side.
The children are Martina's everything. She has an incredibly strong bond with them and thrives on giving them everything they need to find their own way in life as strong individuals. Sometimes I don't know if she suffers more from her physical ailments or from hardly spending any time with the children. Joint activities are out of the question at the moment, as she can do nothing but stay in bed all the time.
Longer than hoped
At the moment, it looks like the recovery will take longer than we had hoped. We have to prepare ourselves for the situation and work on her recovery for several more months. The fact that we have no savings, no social security system, and no relatives nearby makes the situation so difficult for us.
We both sincerely hope to return to a “normal family life” soon and be there for our children again with full energy. The children are looking forward to the day when they can enjoy spending lots of time with their mom.
What does the diagnosis mean?
Soft tissue sarcoma in the thigh
Soft tissue sarcoma is a relatively rare form of cancer. It causes Martina severe pain.
What started out seemingly harmless and felt like a muscle strain now looks like this:
Her right thigh is severely enlarged, almost twice as thick as her left thigh (for comparison: left 40 cm, right 70 cm). She has severe pain in her leg, which is still paralyzed from the knee to the foot as a result of anesthesia.
She can only walk a few steps on crutches, and on some days she can't even make it to the bathroom on her own. When we go to doctor's appointments, we take a wheelchair with us that a kind neighbor has lent us.
What is our plan for treatment?
Goal: Strengthening the body's self-healing powers
The primary goal is to restore her body's defenses to such an extent that it can organize its own healing. The further goal is the regression of the tumor and the complete recovery of her leg.
Martina is pursuing a combination of alternative and conventional medical treatments to achieve this. We believe we are on the right track and are firmly convinced that everything will turn out well.
What is further weakening her body at the moment: after suffering from severe anemia and a stay in hospital, she is still at least 10 kg underweight. Now I'm cooking like a world champion so that she can regain her strength.
What do we need donations for?
Living, care, and medical expenses
Essentially, it's about maintaining our livelihood and doing everything we can to promote Martina's recovery. As soon as I have more time, I will resume my work. Until then, we expect monthly costs, which we cannot cover on our own. With the donations we plan to cover loss of earnings, medication, treatments, and travel expenses.
Why do we need to act urgently?
We and our families are overwhelmed
My regular income had already been significantly reduced months ago and is now at zero. However, I currently have no prospect of having more time to work. Our reserves are depleted, and the substantial financial support from our family will soon have to come to an end—the burden is simply too great.
Meanwhile, the costs continue to mount relentlessly. But we cannot interrupt the therapy if we do not want to put Martina at risk.
What your support makes possible
The healing process can continue
With the help of your donation, Martina can continue her treatment, buy her remedies, and ensure a stable living environment for the whole family. It also guarantees 1:1 care from me. The successes so far give us courage and show that we are on the right track.
How can you help?
No matter what you do, your contribution is valuable to us.
We ask for your help, according to your means:
We appreciate every monetary donation, as well as you telling your relatives, friends, acquaintances, and coworkers about Martina's situation. Be sure to share the link to this page on social media or send it specifically to your contacts.
Thank you to everyone who is already helping
A special thank you goes out to our parents, siblings, and friends for their generous financial support over the past few months. We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our dear neighbors for all their uncomplicated and selfless help in so many ways!
All of you, family, friends, and neighbors, have stood by us with heart and energy in our time of greatest need. We have not taken any of this for granted.
Every contribution you make counts!
What goes around comes around
"Please remember: every good deed you do will come back to you in some form. The universe (or God) is never wrong about this. We experience it ourselves every day."
Martina
How can you reach out to us?
Contact Christoph
If you have any questions, feel free to write to me at my private WhatsApp address “Christoph Blumenthal“ (+41 76 778 7114).
If you like, I can invite you to join Martina's WhatsApp group.
This is how we keep everyone interested in her progress up to date.
Legal & data protection
Donate publicly or anonymously
As a donor, you are welcome to be named on this website (with or without the amount) or you can remain anonymous, as you wish.
Why don't we use a crowdfunding platform?
The platforms don't make it easy for us:
Just being a resident of Paraguay makes it impossible to use most of the well-known websites. In addition, 3% or more of the donations go to the platform operator as a fee.
That's why we avoid complicated processes to make things easier for both you and us. I am convinced that anyone who has a heart and trust will also donate directly to Martina.
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Christoph Blumenthal
Mbatovi, Barrio Santo Tomas
4000 Paraguarí
Paraguay
WhatsApp: Christoph Blumenthal (+41 76 778 7114)
E-Mail: [email protected]