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Young Firefighter Battling Brain Cancer

FEBRUARY 20, 2020 UPDATE

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Dylan’s fight!  With your help, Dylan’s brain tissue sample has been sent to Dr Saskia in Germany and he and his team are working on the multi peptide vaccine.   To date, this is the most promising vaccine for Dylan’s rare type of brain cancer.  Out of the last 30 patients that have received their individualized vaccine, 29 have had an immediate positive response where their own immune systems attacked the disease.  The family continues to be humbled by your generous giving of love and support and will be forever grateful for your donations, information sharing, fundraising, and prayers.

His family at the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad have named their Rookie of the Year Award in honor of Dylan. 

 

A special thank you to Firehouse Subs in Prince Frederick, MD. for hosting a fundraiser for Dylan.  For one night, they contributed 20% of their sales to Dylan’s treatment. 



On Saturday, February 22nd, the Southern Maryland Jeepers Club along with the Huntingtown Firehouse will be hosting a Ride for Dylan event.  Participants will meet for the ride at the old Calvert Middle School lot located on Armory Rd in Prince Frederick, across from the 231 Self Storage.  Registration will start at 10:00AM and the ride will begin promptly at 10:30AM.  A Registration/Donation fee of $20.00 is requested and appreciated.  While this is a Jeep event, a Jeep is not required to participate in the ride, it is just about supporting Dylan and his fight.  The ride route will travel down 231 to Route 5 then back to Route 4 and end at the Huntingtown volunteer firehouse for a 50/50 drawing, silent auction, raffle, and cornhole tournament.  A very special thank you to the many organizations who have donated baskets, tickets, artwork, etc., to the silent auction.  We hope to see you all there!



On Sunday, February 23rd, members of the North Beach Volunteer Fire Department are hosting a carwash to raise money for Dylan's fight.  The carwash begins at 10:30AM.  

A huge shout out to all the firefighter companies showing their solidarity with Dylan.  The PIPEMAN decals are riding with many in Dylan’s extended firefighter family.



ORIGINAL POST

Dylan Smith has always had a passion for firefighting.  He began volunteering at the Huntingtown Fire Department in 2008, at the age of 14.  At the age of 16 he began riding in the engine, making him one of the youngest firefighters in Southern Maryland. For the next 8 years Dylan would volunteer as a fire fighter.   At the age of 23 Dylan had received the following awards

·    Rookie of the year at the age of 15
·    5 Green Cross Awards for cutting out & bringing back to life car accident victims
·    2 Medal of Courage awards; one for rescuing a child from a car accident and one for rescuing his best friend who fell through the floor of a burning building
·    1 National Medal of Honor for pulling a lady out of a fire
·    15 Life Save awards



In March of 2011, Dylan’s senior year of high school, he became hospitalized with 3rd degree burns to his hands.  He also burned his face, shoulders, and back, tore his rotator cuff, and broke bones in his back from jumping out of a second story window of a burning house.  Even from a young age, Dylan gave of himself to others.

Dylan and his little sister Hope

 In November of 2016, Dylan was diagnosed with grade 3 brain cancer, Anaplastic Astrocytoma. If you google Anaplastic Astrocytoma and firefighter, there is story after story of firefighters with this horrific disease. Dylan had two brain surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation. In November of 2019, an MRI showed that the cancer had returned.  Dylan underwent another brain surgery and doctors have recommended the same treatment plan.  Dylan and his family know this only buys him time; it is not a cure. 


 A doctor in Germany and a newly founded company CeCaVa GmbH & Co. KG, which is based in Tübingen, Germany have created an individualized vaccine. Using a tissue sample from the patient’s individual tumor, doctors there are able to create a vaccine that can be tailored to the specific mutations in the respective tumor. One of the reasons that treatment for brain cancer hasn’t progressed in decades, is because brain tumors are heterogenous, no two tumors are alike. They must all be treated differently.

This treatment requires testing of the tumor, 4-6 weeks to create the vaccine, a ten day stay in Germany and two years of traveling to Germany every two months to receive the injection. The tumor tissue from Dylan’s surgery in December of 2019 can be sent to Germany for testing, but it must be done immediately. This cutting-edge treatment is not covered by insurance, but it offers Dylan a chance at a cure. 

 Dylan’s family needs financial assistance in order to access this cutting-edge treatment necessary to give Dylan the best possible chance at a cure. Please consider making a generous one time or ongoing donation if you are able. Contributions of any size are welcome.  Sharing this page can help the Smith family during this difficult time. Prayers are always appreciated and welcome. Thank you for your generosity and support at this time.



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Donations 

  • BetteLyn Endress
    • $25 
    • 4 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Jennifer Meredith
Organizer
Saint Leonard, MD
Dylan Smith
Beneficiary

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