• Maryna poses at home, holding to her eyes samples of cancerous tumors German doctors removed from her body, November 2019
  • Maryna is sitting under a cherry tree near the house of her father Viktor Mykhailovych in the village of Valyava, July 2017.
  • Maryna poses for a family portrait with her father and grandmother at her father’s house in the village of Valyava, July 2017.
  • Maryna shows a computer model of her own spine on her smartphone, April 2019. From the age of 14 she suffered from an acute form of scoliosis and after the operation, which partially cut her hump and implanted bone implants in her spine, she spent the next few years in a special tight corset. Her passion for sports helped her return to a full life.
  • Statuette of the participant of the Cup of Ukraine in powerlifting in 2005 among on the bookshelf in Maryna’s appartment, April 2019.
  • Maryna lifts a barbell during a workout in the gym, June 2017.
  • Maryna consults with Dmytro Osinsky, Chief Oncology Specialist of the Department of Health, he explained her the details of her upcoming operation in Germany to help overcome mesothelioma, July 2017.
  • Maryna walks on the territory of a brick factory located near her father’s house in the village of Valyava, July 2017. The cause of Maryna’s body tumors is unknown, but mesothelioma often occurs under the influence of toxic fibers of asbestos – a mineral that until recently was used to build inexpensive bricks.
  • Maryna shows samples of tumors removed by German doctors from her body during an operation to help overcome mesothelioma, April 2019.
  • Maryna compares on two laptops her photo taken before the cancer operation in Germany, November 2017.
  • Books on psychology on a coffee table in the apartment of Maryna in Kyiv, April 2019. Maryna graduated as a psychologist and social worker, but then did not work in the specialty, coming to the construction business.
  • Maryna poses at home, showing a belly filled with fluid, April 2019.
  • Olga, Maryna’s friend came to the hospital in Kyiv, where Maryna underwent another course of chemotherapy, September 2019. In 2017, Olga supported Maryna, travelling with her to Germany for the cancer operation.
  • Maryna puts make-up on her face, preparing to go out, April 2019.
  • Maryna trains in the gym, to which she returned after more than six months break due to the difficulties of rehabilitation after surgery in Germany, April 2019
  • Maryna looks at the package where the fluid flows from her abdomen, July 2019
  • Olga, Maryna’s friend, gives a massage to Maryna, visiting her at home, September 2019.
  • Maryna together with her father came to the cemetery to the graves of relatives near the village of Valyava, May 2019
  • Maryna arranges the grave of a relative in the cemetery near the village of Valyava, May 2019
  • Maryna cries early in the morning in bed at her father’s house in the village of Valyava and could not sleep properly, May 2019
  • Olga talks to Maryna in her apartment in Kyiv, September 2019
  • Tattoo on Maryna’s left arm with the image of death touching a girl in tears, April 2019. The woman stuffed this picture on her arm after she almost died in Georgia due to thrombosis caused by cancer.
  • Maryna’s friend Ivetta jokingly tests her biceps strength during the celebration of the Maryna’s birthday in the cafe, September 2020
  • Maryna poses in the gym against the backdrop of a portrait of Arnold Schwarzenegger, April 2019
  • Maryna walks around the ward, pushing a device that injects drugs into her body for chemotherapy and immune therapy, August 2019
  • Morning at the parents’ house in the village of Valyava in Cherkasy region, May 2019
  • Friends Maryna and Olga hug in the gym during Maryna’s classes, April 2019.
  • Maryna is waiting for a diagnostic operation in one of the Kyiv clinics, October 2019.
  • Maryna sails a yacht on the Dnipro, celebrating her 41st birthday, September 2020.
  • Maryna takes a selfie on the territory of the yacht club on Obolon in Kyiv, September 2020.

How much do we know about people who have been living with cancer for many years? It happens when tumors are inoperable or cannot be completely eliminated with chemotherapy or radiation therapy and at the same time the cancer has not spread metastases to the most important organs of the human body. The most important problems for a person with such a cancer scenario are finding ways to curb the development of the disease and combating numerous pain syndromes and constant stress, which do not allow to live fully, further depleting the body. In addition, it is often difficult for outsiders to understand what problems such cancer patients face.
Maryna Dikhtyar has an extremely rare type of cancer – abdominal mesothelioma. She was diagnosed with the disease in 2014. Three years later she raised money and underwent surgery to remove tumors in Germany, but doctors there found that it was impossible to completely cure the cancer surgically.
After this operation, Marina lost sleep and still can not sleep for at least a few hours at night without strong sleeping pills. However, despite the insomnia and exhaustion of Marina’s body, she lacks faith in victory and the strength of will to continue her struggle.
Maryna prefers to call herself a “survivor” rather than a serious cancer patient. Because doctors after the operation in Germany said she would be able to live for about six months. But since then has passed much more.