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Eva Mendes is using her platform for good. On Thursday, the actress shared Mana’s story, a 9-year-old child fighting a rare and aggressive brain cancer, urging those who can to donate. “There is currently NO cure for Mana’s rare and aggressive brain cancer,” she explained in the caption. “The family needs money for the treatments that insurance doesn’t cover.”
If you don’t money to donate, the family asks you, “Pray for/Visualize Mana as the vital 40+-year-old man he will someday be!” According to Mala’s GoFundMe, he has multiple malignant brain tumors. The family is trying to reach a goal of $600,000 and has over $460k at the time of this publication. His parents describe him as “an ocean lover, a dancer, a surfer, a musician, a free spirit, a wild child, the most caring big brother.”
Mana’s health battle began in July 2022 when he collapsed on the beach with a seizure that paralyzed the right side of his body. He was misdiagnosed with Focal Cortical Dysplasia, a brain abnormality that had “supposedly been there since birth.” He suffered seizures daily, and they ended up back in the hospital in January 2023, where an MRI revealed two large tumors growing across the surface of his brain.
After emergency surgery, only 60% of one mass was able to be removed. The tissue was sent to diagnostic laboratories around the world, but there were zero matches to what type of cancer he is fighting.
At their last meeting, an oncologist said they couldn’t responsibly offer treatment for his high-grade aggressive brain cancer, which is why the family is on their own trying to find a cure.
From Mana’s Instagram, the family may be based in Indonesia. They found two clinics in the US with cutting-edge treatments that cost between $17,000 - USD 35,000 per month, but neither is covered by insurance.
The goal is to raise enough to cover the first “9 -12 months of treatment, plus medical devices, medications, international travel/accommodation, and childcare” for their other two boys.