A young Footscray couple is staging a last-ditch battle to remain in Australia to continue a desperate fight against advanced breast cancer.
Yousra Alamgir was diagnosed with stage four (metastatic) breast cancer last July and has been undergoing extensive treatment to tackle the cancer, which has also spread to her lungs.
The masters student, originally from Bangladesh, has been living and studying in Melbourne since 2013.
She had only one subject left to complete her degree and become eligible to apply for permanent residence, but the diagnosis halted her study and her visa is due to run out in March, along with the spouse visa held by her husband, Shaifi Moazzem.
Ms Alamgir said Melbourne felt like her home and that she was worried about her chances of survival if she was forced to return to Bangladesh. Her cancer has a less than one-in-four survival rate over five years.
She is undergoing hormone and radiation therapy and worries that Bangladesh lacks the medical expertise and treatment options to deal with such advanced cancer.
“Honestly I do not feel safe there. I’m having a good treatment,” she said. “I trust them, I believe in them and – most importantly – I feel like things are improving so I don’t want to change it.”
Mr Moazzem is attempting to secure sponsorship from his employer to remain in Australia, but Ms Alamgir’s health problems are proving a complicated hurdle.
Despite the bulk of his wife’s cancer treatment being covered by insurance, the costs exceed the immigration department’s threshold for health care costs for visa applicants.
“There is a health criteria in immigration and if you can’t meet the standard, they can actually refuse your visa or to extend it,” he said.
“I don’t want to think about taking her anywhere. We want to stay here, get the treatment right and get a good positive outcome.”
The keen cricketer, who represented Bangladesh as a junior, recently shared news of the pair’s struggle with teammates at the Footscray-Edgewater Cricket Club.
The club immediately swung into action and has raised more than $8000 through a GoFundMe page in less than a week to go towards paying the pair’s health and legal
costs.
It has also organised a March for Marty fundraiser (Marty is Mr Moazzem’s nickname) at Merv G Hughes Oval in Footscray from 10.30am this Sunday, followed by a T20 game of past and present players from 1pm.
Club captain Dylan Kight said the players had no hesitation in rallying around their clubmate and his wife when they heard of their plight.
“He’s not one for attention or those sorts of things, but he means a lot to us so when he first explained everything that was happening it was pretty emotional,” he said.
“I think he must be pretty well aware of what he means to the playing group.”
Mr Knight said he has been overwhelmed by the community support to date and he hopes for a big turn-out on Sunday.
Further details and donations: gofundme.com/marchformarty
