CHARLOTTE — One teacher has hundreds of cheerleaders in the halls of the elementary school she teaches at as she battles breast cancer.
Carissa Abdul-Malik teaches fourth graders at University Meadows Elementary School. But she is having to step away as she continues her battle with metastatic breast cancer, according to her husband Mahmoud Abdul-Malik.
“She’s really passionate about teaching, and the kids love her. She loves the kids.”
Friday marked her last day at the school.
Carissa Abdul-Malik was diagnosed in 2021, her husband said. She had been working in between Chemotherapy treatments, but that has become too much.
“Her levels are low. Immune system is low,” Mahmoud Abdul-Malik said. “So when she’s teaching a lot of times, she’s going to school, she’s getting sick, because kids, they carry a lot of germs.”
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Mahmoud Abdul-Malik said this means the family is paying for medical bills and regular expenses on his salary only. But he said the community has stepped up and raised more than $8,000 through a GoFundMe.
“We know it’s tough times right now,” he said. “And it’s touching that, you know, people are still able to give in times like this, because it’s tight for everybody”
While Carissa Abdul-Malik may not be teaching in a fourth grade classroom, Mahmoud Abdul-Malik said he believes she is teaching a new group. She is teaching others to stay optimistic.
“I want people to never give up,” he said. “Always stay encouraged and try to stay as positive as possible in this fight.”
Carissa Abdul-Malik started a new type of chemo last week, according to her husband.
Anyone interested in assisting the family can donate to its GoFundMe.
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