Hi everyone. I’m not used to asking strangers for help, and I won’t pretend this is easy for me. But my family is in a difficult situation and I don’t know where else to turn.

My father (55 years old) was recently diagnosed with stage 2 oral cancer. He also has heart failure, kidney disease, and diabetes. He had surgery on June 22nd and just came out of the ICU on June 26th. He’s still in the hospital, being fed through a nasal tube, and will need to stay for at least a few more weeks. The doctors have mentioned radiation therapy may be needed after the pathology report comes back, but we don’t know yet.

The most urgent concern right now is his oral cancer recovery. If this doesn’t go well, the doctors told us there could be further surgeries, and if the cancer progresses, treating his heart and kidney conditions becomes pointless.

We're in Taiwan, and our national health insurance does cover a portion of the costs, especially with a catastrophic illness certificate. But there are significant expenses that insurance doesn’t cover. The surgery required a high-end surgical microscope and blood circulation monitoring that cost us NT$20,000 (around USD $620) out of pocket.

2nd July, we just learned that my Dad will need 33 sessions of radiation and chemotherapy. Each session costs NT$1,400 out of pocket, totaling NT$46,200 (around USD $1,430).

That’s already over NT$66,000 (around USD $2,050) in confirmed out-of-pocket costs, not counting the ongoing hospital stay, daily care supplies, and feeding tube supplies that continue to add up.

Our family’s financial situation: I (26 years old, female) work as an administrative staff member and take home about NT$29,000/month (roughly USD $910). My mother (54 years old) normally earns NT$30,000–40,000/month, but she has been taking frequent leave to care for my father, so her income has dropped significantly. My brother (25 years old) works in car sales with an unstable income. My younger sister is a college junior and won’t start earning until her internship begins in September.

We have already applied for the government assistance programs available to us in Taiwan. But between the medical bills, hospital stays, daily care supplies, and the feeding tube supplies, it adds up fast.

I know that not every bit of help is guaranteed, and I don’t want to depend on this. But anything at all would take real pressure off my family during what has been the hardest time of our lives.

Thank you for reading this.