"Mom, do you promise you won't die?": The story of Ravit, who is fighting cancer for her son

Last December, 50-year-old Ravit Churi, a single mother to 6.5-year-old Nadav, began suffering from insomnia and constant, severe headaches. Every time she sought medical treatment, she was ultimately sent home. Ravit, a coach and expert in relationships, began to suffer from other symptoms such as extreme lack of focus and a feeling of inexplicable detachment.

"I stopped sleeping, I woke up from terrible, frightening headaches, and nothing helped. The only thing that calmed me down was coffee," she recalls. At first, she was dismissed in the emergency room with the claim that these were migraines typical of age 50, but the symptoms worsened. "I was detached, I had a disruption in time. I would be coaching a client, looking at the clock ten times a minute, and be sure that an hour had passed. I also started stumbling and falling."

In February, when the winds of war were already in the air, Ravit decided to move in with her mother. There, when she continued to pace at night, her sister gave her an ultimatum: "Either you go to the emergency room, or I'm calling an ambulance."

In the emergency room, the complaints were treated differently, and Ravit was sent for a CT scan. Within a few hours, the situation deteriorated. "I was sleeping on a chair, objects were falling from my hands, I was exhausted. Suddenly people ran to me, laid me on a bed, and rushed me to Beilinson Hospital," she says. "I managed to write to my family that I was on my way there, the phone was almost at 0 percent, and the next thing I remember is waking up at Beilinson." The next day, Ravit underwent surgery to remove a deep tumor in her head, 5 cm in size.

She testifies that the anesthesia was the best sleep she had had in a long time: "I felt that my brain had returned. I made connections, I understood that the falls were related to this. It was the best sleep of my life."

On Friday, February 27, Ravit returned to her mother's house. A day later, Operation "Iron Swords" began. Ravit had to move on to the next struggle: maintaining the sanity of her son, who was suffering from anxiety amidst the sirens and explosions. But a week and a half after the surgery, the attending physician asked her to come in, and the sky fell on her.

Deadly cancer: "It shortens life"

The pathology results arrived - the diagnosis was Glioblastoma (GBM) - a malignant, aggressive, and invasive brain cancer. "The operating surgeon used the words: 'It shortens life, you have about a year and a half left, and that's it.' The sky just falls on your head, especially when you don't expect it," she recalls.

Ravit adds: "It's a very aggressive cancer, like pancreatic cancer but in the head. It doesn't metastasize, but it grows very quickly." Ravit was devastated, but in the same breath, she understood that she was now embarking on a battle for her life: "I answered him: 'We will still hold a press conference when I recover.'"

Together with friends, she discovered that there are advanced treatment methods abroad, including metabolic and immunotherapeutic approaches. The only obstacle: a cost of hundreds of thousands of shekels, and even millions.

"I realized very quickly that I needed money," she admits candidly. "If you had told me a year ago to be interviewed and ask for help, I would never have agreed. But today I have lost the shame. I am a mother, I am turning to strangers because I have one role - to stay in my son's life for as many years as possible."

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"Do you promise you won't die?"

Ravit's war is not only for her own life but also for the future of her only son, 6.5-year-old Nadav, who is entering first grade this year. Dealing with him, she says, is heartbreaking: "I cry many times from emotion, but I don't give fear much room. I am busy saying thank you for every moment."

Nadav, who is in therapy himself, feels the cloud of the illness. "One day he asked a friend of mine if I was going to die. When she calmed him down, he turned to me and asked: 'Do you promise me you won't die?' These are conversations that crush you. I explain to him that I am doing everything the doctors say, that I am like a soldier."

Ravit refuses to think about the worst-case scenario and imagines two optimistic scenarios. The first, when she will accompany her son at his wedding. "Not because I need him to get married, but because I know he is not alone." The second - in two years she is standing on a stage and telling her story, with Nadav by her side. "I chose to publish my story. Medicine often gives up on GBM. Keeping faith with this disease is a big challenge. That's why I'm on a mission. To give hope."

Laughing for life

On Monday, July 27, 2026, at 20:00, a special stand-up evening for Ravit will take place at the ZOA House in Tel Aviv. Some of Israel's most beloved comedians will volunteer to take the stage: Eli Finish, Avi Nussbaum, Yohay Sponder, Roni Sasson, and Yossi Gabni.

The show was organized by Ami Anidjar - a comedian and Ravit's childhood friend. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Ravit and will help fund the continuation of treatments. The ticket price is 150 NIS, and every purchase is a direct donation to Ravit's struggle.

Ravit concludes in an optimistic spirit: "This evening is special because I will be able to hug some of the people who gave, say thank you, and look them in the eyes. And most importantly - that Nadav will see this amount of love. If because of this story I can help one person - that is more than the show for me."