Donate4TCells
Donation protected
Donate4TCells: SUPPORTING T-CELL THERAPY IN THE UK
For those that have been following our campaign, we have some more fantastic news. We are now home and Mike's latest bone marrow biopsy has come back completely clear!!!! We are absolutely over the moon and enjoying every moment together. We have many more tests ahead but right now we couldn't be happier.
Giving Something Back
Following the amazing success of #Donate4Mike, where we were humbled by the incredible generosity of family, friends and strangers alike, we now want to give something back. You've made this happen once before, let's make it happen again!
There is no doubt that CAR T-Cell therapy is one of the most exciting developments in the fight against cancer in years. The treatment is, quite obviously, so incredibly effective that we hope one day it will be available to others in the UK.
We're now raising money to support families whose loved ones have a terminal cancer diagnosis and will go through T-Cell Therapy in the UK in the future. The therapy, although life-saving, can be completely brutal in its effects on the body. The battle is long, terrifying and the financial and emotional burden on families is heavy. Our fund is being set up to help patients' families with financial support. The money will go towards their accommodation and travel expenses to allow them to focus their attention on their nearest and dearest at this most difficult time.
T-Cell Therapy
Below you can read about our story so far and find out more about T-cell Therapy.
Genetically modified T-cells harness the body’s own immune system, using it to recognise and fight leukaemic cells in the body. The treatment has shown extraordinary results in the USA, particularly when treating Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) - as we were lucky enough to experience first hand! Please help us support those like Mike who are facing a terminal diagnosis and have no other hope.
Mike’s Story
In January 2014, one month after Mike proposed, he was diagnosed with a rare form of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Mike required a stem cell transplant to stand any chance of survival so we created the #Shake4Mike campaign to encourage more people onto the donor registry.
The campaign went viral and through Anthony Nolan we were lucky enough to find a match for Mike and on 26th June 2014, his 30th birthday, Mike received his lifesaving transplant.
Despite all the setbacks and undoubtedly the hardest year of our lives, we were able to get married in June 2015 as hope grew that Mike was on the mend. His condition slowly improved following the transplant and we were able to start living our lives again, both of us returning to work as we began to plan our family and our future.
Tragedy strikes again
Having battled through a relapse, rejection of multiple anti-Cancer drugs, undergoing more than 20 grueling bone marrow biopsies, contracting various viruses, pneumonia and receiving five further infusions of cells from his donor, we all believed he was finally on the path to full recovery. But the day before Easter Friday (2016) we were given the devastating news that Mike’s leukaemia had returned and was spreading at an aggressive rate. There were no treatment options left.
A nation comes together to save Mike
After exhausting all treatment available to us in the UK Kate looked into a revolutionary new treatment that has shown extraordinary rates of success for people in Mike’s position. After huge efforts to find a trial of this treatment (CAR T-Cell Therapy) we were told that Mike would be suitable for treatment at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Centre, USA.
Whilst the actual trial costs were funded by the University, the medical costs associated needed to be self funded; we had less than two weeks to raise $600,000 to save his life. In a truly miraculous nine days, more than 20,000 donations flooded in from people near and far; the world came together to give us the chance to fight for our of a future together.
The treatment itself was indescribably hard, including two trips to the Intensive Care Unit. However, after two of the toughest months of our lives, we were blown away by some fantastic news: Mike's first bone marrow test came back clear! Prior to starting the therapy Mike’s biopsy showed his bone marrow was 90% leukaemia cells…… 28 days later there were none.
Our Next Steps...
We still have quite some distance to go in our own journey with leukaemia and some more hurdles to jump, but we are now home and want to start giving something back. The funds we raise here will go to Above and Beyond - a charity close to our hearts that supports Bristol hospitals and has quite literally gone ‘Above and Beyond’ in making Mike's times in hospital that little bit easier.
Please help in any way you can; arrange a fundraiser, donate a tenner, or just help spread the word… T-Cell Therapy works.
Email me at [email redacted] if you want to set up or help out with a fundraiser!
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For those that have been following our campaign, we have some more fantastic news. We are now home and Mike's latest bone marrow biopsy has come back completely clear!!!! We are absolutely over the moon and enjoying every moment together. We have many more tests ahead but right now we couldn't be happier.
Giving Something Back
Following the amazing success of #Donate4Mike, where we were humbled by the incredible generosity of family, friends and strangers alike, we now want to give something back. You've made this happen once before, let's make it happen again!
There is no doubt that CAR T-Cell therapy is one of the most exciting developments in the fight against cancer in years. The treatment is, quite obviously, so incredibly effective that we hope one day it will be available to others in the UK.
We're now raising money to support families whose loved ones have a terminal cancer diagnosis and will go through T-Cell Therapy in the UK in the future. The therapy, although life-saving, can be completely brutal in its effects on the body. The battle is long, terrifying and the financial and emotional burden on families is heavy. Our fund is being set up to help patients' families with financial support. The money will go towards their accommodation and travel expenses to allow them to focus their attention on their nearest and dearest at this most difficult time.
T-Cell Therapy
Below you can read about our story so far and find out more about T-cell Therapy.
Genetically modified T-cells harness the body’s own immune system, using it to recognise and fight leukaemic cells in the body. The treatment has shown extraordinary results in the USA, particularly when treating Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) - as we were lucky enough to experience first hand! Please help us support those like Mike who are facing a terminal diagnosis and have no other hope.
Mike’s Story
In January 2014, one month after Mike proposed, he was diagnosed with a rare form of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Mike required a stem cell transplant to stand any chance of survival so we created the #Shake4Mike campaign to encourage more people onto the donor registry.
The campaign went viral and through Anthony Nolan we were lucky enough to find a match for Mike and on 26th June 2014, his 30th birthday, Mike received his lifesaving transplant.
Despite all the setbacks and undoubtedly the hardest year of our lives, we were able to get married in June 2015 as hope grew that Mike was on the mend. His condition slowly improved following the transplant and we were able to start living our lives again, both of us returning to work as we began to plan our family and our future.
Tragedy strikes again
Having battled through a relapse, rejection of multiple anti-Cancer drugs, undergoing more than 20 grueling bone marrow biopsies, contracting various viruses, pneumonia and receiving five further infusions of cells from his donor, we all believed he was finally on the path to full recovery. But the day before Easter Friday (2016) we were given the devastating news that Mike’s leukaemia had returned and was spreading at an aggressive rate. There were no treatment options left.
A nation comes together to save Mike
After exhausting all treatment available to us in the UK Kate looked into a revolutionary new treatment that has shown extraordinary rates of success for people in Mike’s position. After huge efforts to find a trial of this treatment (CAR T-Cell Therapy) we were told that Mike would be suitable for treatment at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Centre, USA.
Whilst the actual trial costs were funded by the University, the medical costs associated needed to be self funded; we had less than two weeks to raise $600,000 to save his life. In a truly miraculous nine days, more than 20,000 donations flooded in from people near and far; the world came together to give us the chance to fight for our of a future together.
The treatment itself was indescribably hard, including two trips to the Intensive Care Unit. However, after two of the toughest months of our lives, we were blown away by some fantastic news: Mike's first bone marrow test came back clear! Prior to starting the therapy Mike’s biopsy showed his bone marrow was 90% leukaemia cells…… 28 days later there were none.
Our Next Steps...
We still have quite some distance to go in our own journey with leukaemia and some more hurdles to jump, but we are now home and want to start giving something back. The funds we raise here will go to Above and Beyond - a charity close to our hearts that supports Bristol hospitals and has quite literally gone ‘Above and Beyond’ in making Mike's times in hospital that little bit easier.
Please help in any way you can; arrange a fundraiser, donate a tenner, or just help spread the word… T-Cell Therapy works.
Email me at [email redacted] if you want to set up or help out with a fundraiser!
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Organizer
Kate Robertson
Organizer
