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Sinethemba, 16 years, is a survivor of XDR-TB
Sinethemba, 16 years, is a survivor of XDR-TB
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PATIENT BLOGS

Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is known for providing medical aid in emergencies. But not all emergencies are over quickly.

Our first patient blog, TB&B highlighted the lack of treatment options for people with drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis. Patients can face years of severe side-effects, and a cure is not guaranteed.

Now we have expanded the blog to showcase more broadly the stories of people in longer-term treatment.

Together they are speaking out, letting others know they are not alone, and making a powerful call for change.

READ MORE >
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Athira and her cat
TB survivor Athira
Athira Elssa Johnson
TB blogger
TB & Me: "Surviving TB, MDR-TB and the negligent system"
Athira shares her experience and a powerful call for change and solidarity.
01 Apr 2021 / 5 minute read
Vadim Kravchenko
Vadim Kravchenko
TB blogger
TB & Me: "Today I am alive, and I value my life"
Vadim Kravchenko first contracted tuberculosis in prison. He shares his journey and explains why fighting the disease is about more than just medication...
18 Mar 2021 / 4 minute read
Alina Syroyid
Alina Syroyid
TB blogger
TB & Me: "I could not believe this could happen to me"
Alina Syroyid is a former patient who was successfully treated for multi-drug resistant TB in 2020 at the TB Dispensary in Zhytomyr, Ukraine.
01 Mar 2021 / 3 minute read
TB patient Vasyl is treated by the MSF team in Ukraine
Vasyl
Vasyl
TB blogger
TB&Me: "Anyone can get TB"
Vasyl isn't the only member of his family to have TB - his father sadly died of the disease. Now Vasyl is in treatment too. He shares his experience and his determination...
01 Jul 2020 / 3 minute read
TB patient Sergey is treated by MSF in Ukraine
Sergey
Sergey
TB blogger
TB in Ukraine: "My treatment is going well"
Initially doctors thought Sergey had the flu, but after a month, it became clear that something else was going on. He shares his story of drug-resistant tuberculosis...
22 Jun 2020 / 3 minute read
TB patient Svetlana is treated by MSF in Ukraine
Svitlana - MSF TB patient
Svitlana
TB blogger
TB&Me: "I met my boyfriend in the TB hospital"
What's it like to be living in a pandemic, when you already have a serious lung disease? Svetlana shares her experience
18 Jun 2020 / 3 minute read
Drugs used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis
Yana
TB blogger
TB&Me: "People have a real fear of the disease"
Yana* was 19 when she was first diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). She recovered but relapsed twice. The third time, the disease was resistant to drugs. After a long battle, Yana, who is now 33, has defeated it once again, this time thanks to bedaquiline, one of the newer drugs provided by MSF.
25 Feb 2020 / 5 minute read
Yurii is being treated by MSF for DR-TB at the TB hospital in Zhytomyr, Ukraine
Yurii, a TB patient in Ukraine
Yurii
TB blogger
TB&Me: "This treatment programme is my last resort"
One tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis is hard to swallow, let alone four. Yurii, 33, thought he had beaten TB after overcoming the disease three times and being declared cured. Then he fell ill again...
25 Feb 2020 / 3 minute read
These two children have been treated for tuberculosis at the MSF-supported hospital in Machiton, Tajikistan
Zukhro is a mother-of-two from Tajikistan. Her children are being treated by MSF for tuberculosis.
Zukhro
TB blogger
TB&Me: "My children were diagnosed within a month of each other"
Motherhood always has its challenges but what happens when your children are diagnosed with a highly infectious disease? Zukhro shares her experience caring for her young son and daughter as they undergo treatment for tuberculosis at an MSF-supported hospital in Tajikistan. 
24 Feb 2020 / 4 minute read
Svitlana is an MSF TB patient in Zhytomyr
Svitlana - MSF TB patient
Svitlana
TB blogger
TB&Me: “This could happen to anyone – the stigma must be overcome”
Svitlana recently started treatment at the Tuberculosis hospital in Zhytomyr. Two months since her diagnosis, she describes her experience so far.
24 Feb 2020 / 2 minute read
Polina and Andrey have been treated by MSF for TB in Belarus
Polina was enrolled in the TB PRACTECAL clinical trial in Minsk
Polina
TB blogger
TB&Me: Tackling TB together
Polina, 28, and Andrey, 30, had drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). Together, the young couple from Belarus are taking part in TB PRACTECAL, a cutting-edge project that aims to find better treatments for the disease. Polina shares their story... 
24 Feb 2020 / 3 minute read
Mairam* has been treated by for XDR-TB in Kyrgyzstan
Mairam has been treated by MSF for XDR-TB in Kyrgyzstan
Mairam
TB blogger
TB&Me: "I had to live for my son"
Tuberculosis patient Mairam* shares her story of determination in the face of a difficult treatment
24 Feb 2020 / 2 minute read

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