Fighting cancer with God’s will and plenty of effort

Oussama (far right) and family.Picture: Joe Mastroianni

An Altona North man and his team will take to the track for next month’s Relay for Life at Etihad Stadium after his grandmother was diagnosed with cancer.

Oussama Abou-Zeid says his team, Inshallah, has raised $13,000 so far, ranking it No.2 in Australia for the most money collected for the Cancer Council.

Mr Abou-Zeid said his grandmother, Fattoum Kaddour, was diagnosed with brain cancer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. She underwent an operation to try to remove a tumor and last week started radiotherapy.

“It’s very, very hard because this is the first time someone this close has been affected by cancer,” Mr Abou-Zeid said. “Inshallah means God willing, so God willing there’s going to be a cure for cancer,” he said.

“As a team, we are mostly family, but have a mix of friends participating who have been touched by cancer.

“Some of us relay for our cancer survivors, some for a current Hodgkin’s lymphoma sufferer and the rest for my grandmother who has glioblastoma multiforme. [She is] the mother of seven siblings who are relaying and the drive behind the team formation.”

The Inshallah team will do the eight-hour relay while Ms Kaddour will do the survivors and carers lap. To donate, visit fundraising.cancer.org.au and search for Inshallah.