Johns Medical Expenses
Donation protected
3 and a half years ago my brother John was diagnosed with stage 3 brain cancer after collapsing at work in the mines. Our family was devastated. Google brain cancer statistics, they are truly awful.
He had an operation to remove as much of the tumour that they could see. We almost lost him and he was put on life support as he had a bleed on the brain post surgery. He had another operation a few days later to relieve the pressure. Following this he had 6 weeks of radiotherapy and was put on chemotherapy indefinitely. 8 months later the cancer came back. Another operation (causing more side effects including epilepsy, further damaging his motor and sensory skills, memory loss...the list goes on) He remained on chemotherapy, taking it every month.
Despite all this John remained positive, staying fit, eating well and keeping his sense of humour. If you ever ask John how he is he usually responds with 'Yeah I'm good, thanks' when in reality a lot of the time, he isn't.
Unfortunately just before Christmas 2015 a scan showed that the brain cancer had returned quite aggressively. He was referred to a new doctor and started a different treatment to try and slow it down. Surgery is no longer an option... there is only so much of a persons brain that you can remove. He is on a combination of intravenous and tablet chemotherapy which makes him feel pretty terrible. Since the recurrence his memory and word finding have been effected even more and all the other medication he takes on a daily basis (anti convulsants, steroids, sedatives) really takes its toll on him. He can get quite confused and forgetful, sometimes needs help with everyday tasks and is pretty much at the stage where he can't live on his own anymore. My mum flew from the UK on New Year's Eve and is looking after him, making sure he eats well and attends all his appointments.
Despite all this John is still fighting this with everything he has.
Since his original diagnosis in August 2012 he hasn't been able to work and his only income now is a disability pension. Although he has private health insurance (which doesn't cover everything anyway) this new chemotherapy that he is having is expensive and is not covered by Medicare (Australian NHS). A 6 week course costs AUS $478 (£251.50 GBP). He has reached his limit that will be covered by his private health cover in February for the entire year. He has to pay for the rest himself. On top of this he still has to pay for all his prescriptions and medication he takes on a daily basis.
My parents help out financially as much as they can but brain cancer carries one of the highest financial burdens of any cancer and I want to try and help John so he doesn't have to worry about bills and can just concentrate on fighting this disease.
Any money raised will go directly to pay for Johns medical expenses which could increase in the coming months depending on future scans and how he reacts to his current treatment. I want to raise enough for at least 3 rounds of his current chemo treatment and more if I can to help out with any further medical bills which are more than likely inevitable with the situation we are in. Family and friends are always asking how they can help and here is a real way to help John.
Thank you you so much for reading this and I hope it might have inspired you to help my brave, courageous, inspiring brother John when he is literally fighting for his life.
(Please note all donations are taken in GBP)
He had an operation to remove as much of the tumour that they could see. We almost lost him and he was put on life support as he had a bleed on the brain post surgery. He had another operation a few days later to relieve the pressure. Following this he had 6 weeks of radiotherapy and was put on chemotherapy indefinitely. 8 months later the cancer came back. Another operation (causing more side effects including epilepsy, further damaging his motor and sensory skills, memory loss...the list goes on) He remained on chemotherapy, taking it every month.
Despite all this John remained positive, staying fit, eating well and keeping his sense of humour. If you ever ask John how he is he usually responds with 'Yeah I'm good, thanks' when in reality a lot of the time, he isn't.
Unfortunately just before Christmas 2015 a scan showed that the brain cancer had returned quite aggressively. He was referred to a new doctor and started a different treatment to try and slow it down. Surgery is no longer an option... there is only so much of a persons brain that you can remove. He is on a combination of intravenous and tablet chemotherapy which makes him feel pretty terrible. Since the recurrence his memory and word finding have been effected even more and all the other medication he takes on a daily basis (anti convulsants, steroids, sedatives) really takes its toll on him. He can get quite confused and forgetful, sometimes needs help with everyday tasks and is pretty much at the stage where he can't live on his own anymore. My mum flew from the UK on New Year's Eve and is looking after him, making sure he eats well and attends all his appointments.
Despite all this John is still fighting this with everything he has.
Since his original diagnosis in August 2012 he hasn't been able to work and his only income now is a disability pension. Although he has private health insurance (which doesn't cover everything anyway) this new chemotherapy that he is having is expensive and is not covered by Medicare (Australian NHS). A 6 week course costs AUS $478 (£251.50 GBP). He has reached his limit that will be covered by his private health cover in February for the entire year. He has to pay for the rest himself. On top of this he still has to pay for all his prescriptions and medication he takes on a daily basis.
My parents help out financially as much as they can but brain cancer carries one of the highest financial burdens of any cancer and I want to try and help John so he doesn't have to worry about bills and can just concentrate on fighting this disease.
Any money raised will go directly to pay for Johns medical expenses which could increase in the coming months depending on future scans and how he reacts to his current treatment. I want to raise enough for at least 3 rounds of his current chemo treatment and more if I can to help out with any further medical bills which are more than likely inevitable with the situation we are in. Family and friends are always asking how they can help and here is a real way to help John.
Thank you you so much for reading this and I hope it might have inspired you to help my brave, courageous, inspiring brother John when he is literally fighting for his life.
(Please note all donations are taken in GBP)
Organizer
Sarah Hunter
Organizer
