Maria Favela, the MMA fighter diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, reveals hefty treatment cost

Maria Favela, an MMA fighter, has revealed the cost of her cancer treatment after she was recently diagnosed with lymphoma.

The 30-year-old had looked set to kick her career into high-gear after she moved from her home country of Mexico to Las Vegas in order to train at the Xtreme Couture MMA gym two years ago.

As a professional, Favela is sporting a 3-2 record, last winning a bout against Louise Hiller at a Pallas Athena Women's Fighting Championship (PAWFC) event last year. Prior to that, Maria Favela has also competed in Invicta.

Tragically for Maria Favela, her MMA career is on an indefinite hiatus. After feeling constant pain in her chest for a number of weeks and being misdiagnosed as having COVID-19, Favela had opted to head back to Mexico for a full check-up.

It was there that she learned the shocking diagnosis of lymphoma, where she was told that it was treatable but would require upto a staggering $75,000 for a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy.

Speaking to FOX 5 News about her situation, Favela revealed she was now not only fighting for her life, but fighting for the funding too. She said:

“Like a million pesos, like $75,000...The doctors just told me yesterday that I need a bone marrow transplant, I need chemo. When they say I am going to lose my hair too, it is something kind of hard to think about it,” Favela shared. Favela says some of the biggest names in fighting have opened their hearts and wallets to help, even people she doesn’t know personally."

Fans can check out Maria Favela's GoFundMe page here.

Maria Favela sends tear-jerking video message to donors

Despite facing the toughest battle of her life so far, MMA fighter Maria Favela has still taken the time to thank those that have supported her.

Favela, currently undergoing treatment for lymphoma, had her GoFundMe page set up by former UFC strawweight contender Cynthia Calvillo. As of now, the campaign has raised a staggering $40,000 in just 500 donations, with the eventual aim of $75,000 believed to be enough to cover the costs of her treatment.

In a video uploaded to YouTube as a GoFundMe Campaign Update, Favela thanked everybody who had donated to her cause. She said:

"Hi world. I have no words to explain how thankful I am for all the answers that I've been receiving about my GoFundMe and my asking for help for this nightmare... I can't even out this in a few words like thank you... We have a cure, we're just waiting for the last exam... Thank you for helping me have a second chance"

Watch the emotional video here: