Patrick Murphy
Donation protected
My name is Robert Murphy, I write this as the younger brother of Patrick Murphy, a great brother, a great father, a great uncle, a great grandfather, and great friend and an all around great dude.
Some of you may be aware of the battle Pat has been involved in for the last 14 months, but for those unaware, here is a timeline of events. In late December of 2016, Pat was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a very aggressive form of brain cancer. He was operated on in January 2017 by a wonderful and world renowned brain surgeon, Dr. James Perry out of Sunnybrook. Pat began both chemo and radiation therapy in late February 2017, and continued a very aggressive treatment campaign against this horrific menace throughout 2017, all the while continuing regular monitoring visits to Sunnybrook and Dr. Perry. In late October of 2017, another tumour was found during a monthly checkup at Sunnybrook, and a second brain surgery was performed on November 7th. During this second surgery, it was discovered that the tumour has begun to grow in a very delicate area near the brainstem, and attempting to extract this part of the tumour was far too risky, and would almost certainly result in collateral damage. All of this background leads us to where we are today...........and that is in need of your support.
Pat has been prescribed a drug called Avastin, which basically is designed to prevent the growth of new blood vessels, which in turn stops the blood and nutrient flow to the tumour. This effectively starves the tumour and makes it extremely difficult to grow. These treatments of Avastin are being prescribed via intravenous injections, every 3 weeks, for at least an initial course of 10 treatments (30 weeks), and they need to start ASAP. The cost per injection varies, depending mostly on the patients weight, and it has been advised that Pat's treatment's will cost in the range of $2,400-$3,200, every 3 weeks. Unfortunately OHIP does not cover Avastin as a brain cancer drug, only as a colon cancer drug, so zero coverage is available to Pat....it is covered in British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba - but that is a complete other story that time or logic doesn't allow time for here. A saving grace financially has been the 25% funding the drug manufacturer Roche has provided. There will still be additional costs of between $22,000-$28,000 for the 10 scheduled treatments Pat requires.
Those of you that know my brother Pat will in no way be surprised that his attitude throughout this ordeal has been defiance, he's frustrated, but in no way is he letting this crap win. So typically stubborn Patty............and typically stubborn Irish! We thank you for taking the time to read my brother's most recent story, and we look forward to having Pat continuing to tell you his story personally in the future. ( joining Pat in the photo are his daughter Christine and his granddaughter Lauren - his grandson Kane joined the team January 27th 2018).
Some of you may be aware of the battle Pat has been involved in for the last 14 months, but for those unaware, here is a timeline of events. In late December of 2016, Pat was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a very aggressive form of brain cancer. He was operated on in January 2017 by a wonderful and world renowned brain surgeon, Dr. James Perry out of Sunnybrook. Pat began both chemo and radiation therapy in late February 2017, and continued a very aggressive treatment campaign against this horrific menace throughout 2017, all the while continuing regular monitoring visits to Sunnybrook and Dr. Perry. In late October of 2017, another tumour was found during a monthly checkup at Sunnybrook, and a second brain surgery was performed on November 7th. During this second surgery, it was discovered that the tumour has begun to grow in a very delicate area near the brainstem, and attempting to extract this part of the tumour was far too risky, and would almost certainly result in collateral damage. All of this background leads us to where we are today...........and that is in need of your support.
Pat has been prescribed a drug called Avastin, which basically is designed to prevent the growth of new blood vessels, which in turn stops the blood and nutrient flow to the tumour. This effectively starves the tumour and makes it extremely difficult to grow. These treatments of Avastin are being prescribed via intravenous injections, every 3 weeks, for at least an initial course of 10 treatments (30 weeks), and they need to start ASAP. The cost per injection varies, depending mostly on the patients weight, and it has been advised that Pat's treatment's will cost in the range of $2,400-$3,200, every 3 weeks. Unfortunately OHIP does not cover Avastin as a brain cancer drug, only as a colon cancer drug, so zero coverage is available to Pat....it is covered in British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba - but that is a complete other story that time or logic doesn't allow time for here. A saving grace financially has been the 25% funding the drug manufacturer Roche has provided. There will still be additional costs of between $22,000-$28,000 for the 10 scheduled treatments Pat requires.
Those of you that know my brother Pat will in no way be surprised that his attitude throughout this ordeal has been defiance, he's frustrated, but in no way is he letting this crap win. So typically stubborn Patty............and typically stubborn Irish! We thank you for taking the time to read my brother's most recent story, and we look forward to having Pat continuing to tell you his story personally in the future. ( joining Pat in the photo are his daughter Christine and his granddaughter Lauren - his grandson Kane joined the team January 27th 2018).
Organizer
Robert Murphy
Organizer
Scarborough, ON
