Altai Krai native battles cancer and joins beauty contest

28-year-old native of Altai Krai Natalya Rybina has been fighting a dangerous opponent — cancer — for over a year. The heroine has already undergone many courses of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in her battle for health and believes she can achieve remission. During treatment, Natalya didn’t give up, but decided to participate in the beauty contest «Queen of New Life – 2025» for women with cancer.

She learned about the event by chance, but in the end, she went to Crimea without hesitation to get her beauty queen crown. How the contest went and why such events are needed for cancer patients — read in the interview with NGS22.RU.

2.5 months of uncertainty

Cancer burst into Natalya’s life suddenly. The heroine had moved to Moscow with her military husband, was raising a young daughter and working as an eyebrow artist, but at the beginning of this year she suddenly fell ill.

— In February, my husband went on a business trip, and I got a little sick, maybe from stress, I don’t know. I got treatment and my condition normalized. But a week later, I was bedridden again: lymph nodes swelled all over my body, a high fever spiked, and severe chills began. Besides, there was severe mental fog, I became scared, and I lost control of myself, — she recalls.

Natalya called an ambulance, which took her to the hospital. In the therapy department, she was examined for three weeks, but nothing was found. Only later, based on a CT scan, a large tumor 30–40 mm in diameter with metastases was discovered in her chest.

— The doctors decided I needed surgery to remove the growth. I was in shock, but there was no choice, the severe symptoms persisted, it was hard for me to live, I was constantly sweating, I’d just wake up all wet. And I had chills, I couldn’t even hold a spoon in my hands, my vision dropped, and there was a high fever that wouldn’t go down with anything, — the heroine shared.

The surgery proposed for Natalya was very complex. It usually lasts about 10–12 hours, during which the patient’s ribs are sawed to reach the tumor, and the lungs are shut down. Moreover, a difficult recovery process follows the intervention.

— I thought I wouldn’t survive after that, but I pulled myself together and went to the center. In the taxi, I even got into an accident, so I had to call another car. In the thoracic department, I was assigned a young doctor who was very surprised by the other medics’ decision and stated that I must not under any circumstances undergo the surgery. The chance that I would survive after that was very low, — the native of Altai Krai recounted.

After that, Natalya faced a bunch of examinations again. Meanwhile, the doctor convinced her that her illness wasn’t serious and could be treated with pills, and sent her home.

— I came home all inspired, told my family that everything would be fine, that there couldn’t be any talk of cancer, but five days later, during breakfast with my daughter, I accidentally opened my email and saw a new message. It was the histology and biopsy report, which said I had cancer, — she added.

Thus, only after two and a half months did Natalya learn her final diagnosis, which she would have to live with from then on.

— In February, I got sick and only at the end of April found out what it was. It was shock, panic, hysteria, and disbelief that this could even happen, — the heroine noted.

«I don’t know how I survived»

Natalya was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma with metastases in four areas: under the arms, in the groin area, and in the subclavian and supraclavicular zones. What causes such a tumor is currently unknown to science; it is treated with high doses of chemotherapy. However, the heroine did not start treatment immediately.

— I literally begged the doctors to give me 10 days to freeze my eggs, so that in the future I could have the chance to get pregnant. They injected me with hormones, which made my body swell up like a balloon. I couldn’t breathe properly, but that was nothing compared to the next day after the procedure, when I had my first day of chemo, — she recounted.

On May 15, Natalya was scheduled for her first chemotherapy. As the heroine recalls, she went to the hospital with positivity and curiosity, since she didn’t know what awaited her afterward. And after, according to her, it was hell, because the body’s intoxication was very severe.

— I don’t know how I survived after the first two chemos. And mine is the most toxic, the red one. Now I remember all this with a smile on my face, because it’s all behind me, but back then it was very hard, and we didn’t know how to ease my condition. I just died in the moment and was reborn. For two weeks, I just existed, not getting out of bed. They carried me to the toilet in their arms, because I couldn’t walk there myself, — the heroine recalls.

However, at the same time, Natalya realized that nothing is impossible in life and everything can be overcome if you really want it. After that, there were six more courses of chemotherapy, the last of which the heroine completed in early September.

— I asked God, I prayed, that after chemotherapy they wouldn’t prescribe more, because the latest examinations showed that the response to chemo was poor. The tumor hadn’t shrunk even a millimeter. The oncologists concluded that it was useless and sent me for 15 courses of radiation therapy, — the native of Mikhaylovsky District recounted.

Natalya’s last therapy is at the end of November, after which she will have a three-month break without any treatment.

— During treatment, I became a prisoner of four walls, which I’m just sick of. Constant hospitals, pharmacies, pills — an endless cycle. I just have no strength left. Probably, I just need to rest. The only wish I’ll ask for on New Year’s is to be healthy, in remission, and for everything to be as before, — she emphasized.

Husband thought she’d be taken into slavery

Natalya learned about the beauty contest for participants with cancer by chance, through social media. Even before her illness, she was following a girl who was fighting cancer. Soon they started communicating, and it was from her that the heroine learned about the event.

— I sent an application, just out of curiosity, and forgot about it. Then in August, we went on vacation. And there, I accidentally found a message from the organizer in my profile. There were only a few days left until the contest, and I thought I probably wouldn’t be accepted, but I decided to continue the dialogue anyway, — Natalya shared.