Father writes song for his daughter who died of rare cancer

A grieving father has written a song in honor of his daughter, who was only 16 years old when she died from one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of cancer.

Arin Ghosh from Ashford in Kent was inspired to write ‘I Hear Your Voice’ a week after the death of his beloved Sasha and sang the song at her funeral.

The song is a tribute to her and raises awareness of her cancer, which affects only a “handful” of mainly young people each year. Mr Ghosh calls for more research into the special treatment of desmoplastic small and round cell tumor (DSRCT).

The teenager died less than two months ago from DSRCT, a rare form of soft tissue sarcoma that usually grows in the abdomen but can occur anywhere in the body.

Mr Ghosh said: “Just two days before she died, Sasha said to me, ‘I wish someone had talked about this disease 10 or 20 years ago. If they had, maybe things would be different for me today.’

“The frustrating thing is that there isn’t enough research into this type of cancer. It shouldn’t be the job of charities to raise funds for this kind of work.”

The family lived in the Middle East for five years but then moved back to Kent so Sasha could have a biopsy and diagnosis.

However, they were frustrated because no specialized treatment was available beyond chemotherapy.

They even contacted doctors in the US who suggested a different type of chemotherapy. But by the time Sasha received the treatment, she was already very weak and suffering greatly from the disease.

Richard Davidson, chief executive of Sarcoma UK, said: “Desmoplastic small round cell tumour is one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of sarcoma, affecting only a handful of people each year, often young people full of life and potential.”

“Arin’s poignant song and Sasha’s tragic story are a powerful reminder that we cannot let these rare cancers go unnoticed or underfunded.”

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