Constanza Guerra Parada: Chilean student booked a dentist appointment to have her painful gums checked. The diagnosis was much worse

What should have been a routine dental check-up for international student Constanza Guerra Parada turned into a life-changing ordeal.

The 31-year-old Chilean, who lives in Sydney, first noticed strange bruises on her limbs in late July, and suffered from fever and fatigue, but dismissed the symptoms as being caused by her job as a cleaner.

When she was unable to eat due to inflammation in her gums, Mrs. Guerra Parada made an appointment with a dentist.

She was told that her inflammation was unusual and was referred to a GP for blood tests and a biopsy of her palate.

Two days later, Mrs Guerra Parada, known to her friends as Connie, was told to go to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital as soon as possible. There, doctors gave her the devastating news that she had acute myeloid leukaemia and would have to start chemotherapy almost immediately.

Fellow Chilean Isidora Becerra Quezada, 24, is not only one of Ms. Guerra Parada’s best friends, but also one of her few pillars of support in Australia.

“I know her cancer treatment will be a long and difficult process and I will be with her every step of the way,” she wrote in a GoFundMe page set up to help her friend.

Constanza Guerra Parada is fighting for her life after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

‘Unfortunately, she is away from her family, as she decided to come to Australia to strengthen her professional skills. But due to circumstances, this dream will fall apart.’

Just a week before being diagnosed with shock, Ms Guerra Parada had booked a holiday to visit her family back home before resuming studies in the second semester.

Ms Becerra Quezada said her friend struggled to find a way to tell her family she could no longer see them after the shock diagnosis.

“First she told her brother about her illness so he could help her tell her mother,” Ms. Becerra Quezada said 7news.com.au.

The family is now saving to travel to Australia and help care for Mrs. Guerra Parada.

“She is all alone right now,” her friend wrote online.

Best friend Isidora Becerra Quezada (right) has rallied behind her best friend Connie

She added that her friend has been severely weakened by the treatment.

“The medications and chemotherapy are not showing good results… first it started with an allergic reaction all over her skin and now there is an infection somewhere, because even the antibiotics are not having much effect,” Ms. Becerra Quezada wrote.

Ms Guerra Parada also cannot afford to focus on her recovery, as her treatment is overshadowed by financial and international complications.

Since March 2023, she has been living in Australia on a student visa with a work restriction of 24 hours per week.

Her visa requires her to attend all classes, but that proves impossible.

Ms. Guerra Parada needs official approval to postpone her studies at her school in order to legally reside in the country.

However, Mrs. Guerra Parada has not lived in Chile for many years and therefore does not have insurance to cover her treatment there.

“For her safety, we would prefer this process to be completed in Australia,” Ms Becerra Quezada said.

Ms. Guerra Parada went to a dentist with concerns about her gums, but was referred to her family doctor

Even if she is able to stay in Australia, Ms Guerra Parada will still have to pay significant costs out of her own pocket as her insurance only covers the first six weeks of treatment and hospital costs.

Doctors estimate that if chemotherapy is successful, recovery will take six to eight months.

“With help…she can fight cancer under better circumstances and be with her family during this very sad and difficult time,” Ms. Becerra Quezada wrote on the fundraiser.