Do you remember Daniil from Tsikhanouskaya's Office, for whom money was collected for an oncological operation in two days? The same classmate who hit him wrote to him — from which it all began
A year ago, Nasha Niva told the story of Daniil Harkavy — a Belarusian who has been fighting oncological disease since childhood. In 2025, he experienced another relapse, and he needed a complex operation abroad. Money for the treatment was collected in a couple of days. But the story had another continuation.
Daniil Harkavy. Photo from the hero's archive
We contacted Daniil again to find out how he is living now.
«I stopped, focused on my health — and it worked»
NN: Daniil, a year ago you said that the main thing is to stop and focus on your health. Did you succeed?
Daniil Harkavy: Yes, I did. As much as possible, I solved my problem. Many thanks to you for that material, and to Baysol for making this fundraiser happen at all. The necessary amount was collected very quickly — literally in two days. I went to Germany, where I had the necessary operation.
After that, I underwent further treatment in Lithuania, including radiation therapy. All of this took a lot of time: only in December 2025 did my skin finally heal and all the injuries sustained recover.
But overall, I perceive this as a story with a happy ending. This issue was successfully closed — quite quickly, with good results and a positive prognosis. And I am very glad that I did not stay for the operation in Lithuania, but went to Germany. For me, this is truly a great achievement — and a big thank you to all the people who helped raise this money.
NN: What do doctors say now? What are the prognoses?
DH: In my case, this is not the type of oncology where one can speak of remission. This is a tumor prone to recurrence. In any oncology, it is not the tumor itself that kills a person, but the dysfunction of the organs it affects. The tumor itself is not fatal.
In my case, the tumor can return, but it grows slowly. If you control the situation, it can be monitored. The other thing is that with multiple relapses, there may simply be no tissues left that can be removed.
I underwent a very radical operation — a large part of the tissues was removed. In combination with radiation therapy, the German oncologist's prognosis is quite good; he views the situation positively. And I also have the feeling that this is not the end of life. Well, shit happens.
NN: You speak about it very calmly. Were there moments when you felt you couldn't cope?
DH: Thoughts, of course, were varied. When you face this not for the first time, the reaction is not as sharp as for those who hear the diagnosis for the first time. And this, by the way, applies not only to the person themselves, but also to their loved ones. Because you receive the diagnosis, you experience despair, you try to somehow comprehend it, to live through it. But the people next to you go through it with you. And sometimes it's even a question of who has it harder and who should support whom.
I react quite calmly, but that doesn't mean everything is easy. When the answer came in January last year that it was a relapse, I was simply knocked off balance for two days. And thanks to the people who were nearby: they picked me up and actually just kept me in that very confused emotional state for two days. Then I pulled myself together, understood how to act next.
I know that many people are genuinely afraid of oncology — so many myths and fears are associated with it. And it's important not to fall into extremes here: on the one hand, not to be so scared as to become completely inactive, and on the other hand, not to trivialize the problem, because it can indeed be very serious.
I treat it calmly — that's my way of living with it. As long as it works, let it work.
Bandages, dressings, and life centered around treatment
NN: What was your life like after the operation?
DH: Firstly, it took time for the skin to heal, and secondly, I had to undergo radiation therapy. Unfortunately, because the area of tissue removal was very large, the wound did not have time to close before the therapy began, and radiation therapy, in turn, greatly slows down healing.
Therefore, for almost half a year, I had to change dressings every day and, in essence, rearrange my entire life around treatment and rehabilitation.
Now I am focusing on so-called mobile rehabilitation — by that, I mean movement and gradually restoring my body's former functionality. But this does not add any serious restrictions: I don't need to take medication, there's no need to significantly limit myself in activities or daily life.
I have other ailments, like any person, and, frankly, they are now affecting my lifestyle more than oncology.
NN: Did this affect your psychological, internal state?
DH: I think my case is still not the worst. True, my therapist says that this story greatly affected my psyche. I could argue with her, but I trust her: if she says it, she must have noticed something. Although this can also be corrected, and I don't feel that it fatally affects my life.
We live in such a time: both emigration and everything happening inside Belarus — so many different challenges that sometimes you don't even understand what is harder to go through.
When you face oncology, many questions arise: how to react to it, whether to talk about it, whether to ask for help. A whole layer of reflections emerges about how to live with it and what to do about it.
I am a person who reflects a lot about myself and my life. This requires certain efforts, but it also helps to revise priorities. For example, before, I worked in Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's office, and the only priority was work. Now I have shifted this focus: I am learning to divide life so that I not only work but also find resources for myself.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Daniil Harkavy. Photo: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office
This is strategically important — to live longer and better. Oncology in this sense also shows who you are: much depends on how you approach it. Will it become another task for you, from which you will learn something new about yourself and your environment?
NN: You mentioned working in Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office. You left there before starting treatment. Did the thought of re-engaging in political or public work ever return?
DH: To some extent, I never disengaged. Now I work with Pavel Liber and his team. There are many non-public people there, so we usually talk about it quite carefully. But overall, I remain in the process: we are working together on a digital platform. Therefore,
I don't feel that I have fallen out of socio-political life. Perhaps I am no longer in the epicenter, as it was during my work in the Office, but certainly not outside of it.
Pavel and I have known each other for a long time; I understood what they were doing, and my interest in joining this team arose even earlier. It just all came together at some point.
NN: Yes, and you, along with Pavel, were included in the extremist formation "Try Slany" (Daniil is a public representative of this platform. — NN). How did you, by the way, react to this?
DH: Savagery. But there's nothing fundamentally new for me here. I understand that they are just doing their "job" — they found enemies for themselves and are acting within that logic.
I see no point in spending a lot of energy on it. Can I influence it? No. Am I doing something bad? Even less so, no.
Here it's more important to learn to deal with it — and, probably, with a certain amount of humor. Dark humor, in this sense, helps a lot.
NN: What exactly are you working on now?
DH: We are working on a platform that has actually been under development for quite some time. This is a continuation of previous initiatives: once there was the "Novaya Belarus" (New Belarus) platform, which later transformed into the "Svae" (Our Own) application. In general, it's about developing an entire infrastructure: there's "Svae", the crowdfunding platform Gronka, the project "Buduy Svae" (Build Your Own). And "Try Slany" (Three Elephants) is one of the parts of digital Belarus, conditionally speaking, the country of the future.
This is currently a pilot proto-project, on the basis of which other solutions can be deployed and added in the future. Specifically, "Try Slany" is an aggregator of socio-political organizations and initiatives. They themselves requested such a space — for coordination, communication, exchange of information. And, in essence, this is the answer to that request.
We quietly launched the platform into the public space at the beginning of the year. Now we plan to use it as a technical basis for the elections to the Coordination Council. The idea is for it to become the first entry point: if a person wants to understand what is happening in the socio-political environment, they can simply and quickly find all the necessary information. And for organizations, it's an opportunity to talk about themselves.
«It was an amazing, incredible story»
NN: When you needed an operation, Belarusians literally collected the necessary sum for it in two days. How do you perceive this now?
DH: Listen, this is just an amazing, incredible story. I remember well that at first, I had a very strong internal sabotage about even launching this fundraiser.
I was waiting for a response from an international organization that institutionally supports activists. I thought they would be able to help, and I wouldn't have to turn to people. But they couldn't, and I realized that a fundraiser would still have to be done — I just couldn't bring myself to do it for a long time.
In this story, many small but important episodes remained for me — about how your circle supports you in a difficult moment. For example, one of my friends literally came every few days and badgered me: "Danik, have you filled out the application for help or not?". That way, she supported me, because she saw that I might be delaying.
I am very grateful to Nasha Niva and Baysol for getting involved, organizing this fundraiser, and telling about it.
And when all this happened in two days — it was, of course, "wow". There are so many stories…
For example, my friend, a veteran of the Ukrainian war, later said that he literally "pestered" Baysol to hold an auction of his military awards and that the money should go to my fundraiser. But he simply didn't make it — people had already collected everything.
In those two days, my entire feed was about me — everyone reposted. Even people I wasn't very closely acquainted with.
And there was another very powerful story. In general, my oncology started when a classmate hit me in school. And now, so many years later, he found my Telegram handle somewhere and wrote: "Hi, it's me. I didn't know that happened." And he apologized.
For me, it was a very powerful, courageous act. I never mentioned his name or surname anywhere — he could have just done nothing. But he found me and wrote.
And at some point, you realize that this story is not just about money. Not just about Belarusians collectively raising the necessary amount. It's about people.
Because it's very difficult to help non-materially — often you simply don't understand how to do it. And the fact that people still found ways — they wrote, supported, performed such acts — that, of course, is a super cool story.
Daniil Harkavy. Photo: daniil.garkavy / Facebook
«I need a dog»
NN: What do you live for now, besides work? What interests you?
DH: I generally just live my life. There's work with Pavel, there's my commercial project. I'm very interested in the IT sphere; I want to develop in it.
Among simple, human things — I'm thinking about getting a dog. I really love dogs.
I'm not ready to talk about the commercial project yet — for security reasons. Even if you're not in Belarus, it's not worth flattering yourself with illusions that we're all completely safe here.
NN: Do you make plans for the future?
DH: My plan is quite simple: to learn to balance different parts of life. There's humanitarian-political activity — I generally perceive myself more as a public activist — and there's the commercial side. And I want to learn to combine them so that there's room for everything in life.
To live life, notice the good moments, concentrate more on the positive. To feel what's happening around — people, events, the very fabric of life.
And yes, a dog — that's a separate story. In a sense, it's my little obsession. I just need a dog.
«I want support and opportunities to become the norm»
NN: What would you say to people who have learned about their cancer diagnosis?
DH: This is indeed a very difficult question. And, probably, there are no universal tips here.
Firstly, it's important to learn to understand yourself to be more resilient. And when it comes to oncology — don't be scared. There's this feeling that oncology immediately means death. That might be the case, but it's not guaranteed. Medical protocols are constantly changing; many things are treatable today. Therefore, it's very important not to write yourself off.
Secondly, oncology is not always as expensive as we used to think. There are different options, and sometimes they are more accessible than they seem.
Thirdly, if you are outside Belarus, look for opportunities, talk to people, don't be ashamed to talk about your situation. The more people know, the greater the likelihood that an effective solution will be found.
And it's important to approach everything critically: I, for example, only trust evidence-based medicine.
You need to see what's new, consider possibilities for consultations and treatment in other countries. This is often simpler than it seems. Most clinics now have websites, and even without knowing the language, you can communicate — with the help of artificial intelligence, translators. I, for example, did just that with my German clinic.
And, probably, the most important thing is to find ways to support yourself and not get lost. And not be afraid to live after this.
NN: You said to look for opportunities outside Belarus. What about inside the country?
DH: In Belarus, unfortunately, medicine often works despite, not thanks to. It's generally decent, but there are difficulties with how communication is built, how people behave, how emotionally they get involved in the process.
In Germany, for example, they gave me a special material so it wouldn't hurt to peel off the plasters. And I just looked at it wide-eyed.
I really want to believe that such things will become the norm in Belarus too. And in general — that both support and opportunities will become the norm in our society.
Comments