My name is Stas Krainov. I am 42. I am from Odesa.
Before the illness I lived an ordinary life: I worked, made plans, looked after my family. I have a wife and two daughters. We loved simple things — spending time together, going to the sea, going out into nature, riding a bicycle, reading a book in the evening. I never thought that one day my life would split into "Before" and "After".
It all started with ordinary malaise: weakness, pain. We did not immediately realise how serious it was. When I heard the diagnosis, time seemed to stop - clear cell renal carcinoma, stage IV, with bone metastases. From that moment another life began — a life in which instead of plans there is treatment, hospitals, tests and the constant waiting for results.
So far I have had 6 courses of radiotherapy (42 radiation sessions). At present I am continuing systemic treatment.
The treatment is hard to bear: there is marked weakness, the temperature rises from time to time, food becomes repulsive, the pain persists, especially in my legs, which makes moving about much harder. There are also complications in the spine — pinched nerves affecting the spinal cord.
Despite this I keep fighting, because I want to live, to be with my family and to see my children grow up.
At the moment I have been prescribed modern treatment: 
— immunotherapy (Pembrolizumab)
— targeted therapy (Axitinib)
The treatment costs 110 000 hryvnias every 3 weeks for the main therapy alone, not counting examinations, tests and supporting medicines. For my family this is an unbearable financial burden, and we are not able to pay for the treatment in full on our own.
Without continuing the therapy the disease progresses, so it is vital for me not to interrupt the treatment.
I ask everyone who cares to support me in my fight for life.
Any help matters — financial support, spreading the word or words of encouragement.
I am sincerely grateful to everyone who responds and helps me continue the treatment.
Yours sincerely, Stas.