Coast2Coast walk for Andy and the BMLT
Donation protected
Hello everyone, my name is Philip McCarthy, and I plan on walking from Dublin to Galway on the 26th of September. The walk will be around 250km and hopefully will take about 7 days to complete. The reason I am doing this is to raise money for one my of friends, Andrew Bacon, who has been battling cancer for nearly 10 years now. I have been friends with Andrew since we were four years old and now, he is heading to the States to get some potentially lifesaving and innovative treatment to hopefully beat his cancer once and for all. Any donation would be hugely appreciated by myself, Andrew and his family.
Now Id like to give a brief description of Andrews journey and the current treatment he is on so you can get a sense of where your money will be going:
Andy was diagnosed with a highly chemo resistant form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011. For those of you who don’t know, Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a form of cancer that affects the lympnodes around the body and can pass into other organs. As you might imagine this came as a shock to Andy and his family. Andy had only turned 16 the month before he was diagnosed and had no idea of the long and tough journey that was ahead of him.
Since 2011 Andy has had nearly every conceivable form of treatment for his cancer one could imagine. He has had two stem cell transplants, one with his own cells and another with an anonymous donor’s cells. He has had radiotherapy, multiple immuno therapies and countless forms of chemo. Unfortunately, despite the amazing care he received from numerous Dublin hospitals and the constant support of friends and family, he is still battling his cancer now.
The treatment that has been proposed by his physicians is extremely new in the realms of haematology and is called CAR T treatment. This treatment involves gathering a patient’s T cells and reprogramming them with specific antigens that make them better able to locate and destroy tumours. This kind of therapy is revolutionary, as it allows for tailor made T cells for specific cancers. The only problem with this is that CAR T treatment is only available in certain locations. This is due to it being a relatively new treatment model but also because there has to be a large enough amount of people in need of this tailor made treatment for hospitals to provide it (essentially if your cancer is rare, it’s less likely to have a CAR T treatment due to supply and demand). As such, the only way for Andy to receive this potentially lifesaving treatment is to travel abroad to North Carolina, one of the only places on Earth to provide CAR T treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
As you can imagine the process of getting this treatment in a different continent is extremely complicated and costly. Flights, accommodation and insurance are all huge costs before the cost of the treatment is even factored in.
Andy’s family has had to pay for it themselves which has been a massive financial burden on them. This is why I decided to try and raise a bit of money to help them out. Even if it simply helps them with the cost of a couple of flights and accommodation over in North Carolina while Andy is receiving his treatment.
We decided that any money that we raise that Andrew and his family felt they didn’t truly need, will be donated to the Bone Marrow Leukaemia Trust (BMLT). The BMLT is a fantastic charity that provides funds for patients and their families so that they can pursue treatment for haematological diseases. Their incredible work makes it possible for countless people to access lifesaving treatment who otherwise could not. It is a charity that is very close to Andy’s heart and have helped him out a lot in the past, so it is hard to imagine a more worthy or relevant cause to donate any excess funds to.
The last thing I will add. This treatment is going to hopefully save Andy’s life and we would appreciate any donation no matter how big or small. Thank you!
Now Id like to give a brief description of Andrews journey and the current treatment he is on so you can get a sense of where your money will be going:
Andy was diagnosed with a highly chemo resistant form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011. For those of you who don’t know, Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a form of cancer that affects the lympnodes around the body and can pass into other organs. As you might imagine this came as a shock to Andy and his family. Andy had only turned 16 the month before he was diagnosed and had no idea of the long and tough journey that was ahead of him.
Since 2011 Andy has had nearly every conceivable form of treatment for his cancer one could imagine. He has had two stem cell transplants, one with his own cells and another with an anonymous donor’s cells. He has had radiotherapy, multiple immuno therapies and countless forms of chemo. Unfortunately, despite the amazing care he received from numerous Dublin hospitals and the constant support of friends and family, he is still battling his cancer now.
The treatment that has been proposed by his physicians is extremely new in the realms of haematology and is called CAR T treatment. This treatment involves gathering a patient’s T cells and reprogramming them with specific antigens that make them better able to locate and destroy tumours. This kind of therapy is revolutionary, as it allows for tailor made T cells for specific cancers. The only problem with this is that CAR T treatment is only available in certain locations. This is due to it being a relatively new treatment model but also because there has to be a large enough amount of people in need of this tailor made treatment for hospitals to provide it (essentially if your cancer is rare, it’s less likely to have a CAR T treatment due to supply and demand). As such, the only way for Andy to receive this potentially lifesaving treatment is to travel abroad to North Carolina, one of the only places on Earth to provide CAR T treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
As you can imagine the process of getting this treatment in a different continent is extremely complicated and costly. Flights, accommodation and insurance are all huge costs before the cost of the treatment is even factored in.
Andy’s family has had to pay for it themselves which has been a massive financial burden on them. This is why I decided to try and raise a bit of money to help them out. Even if it simply helps them with the cost of a couple of flights and accommodation over in North Carolina while Andy is receiving his treatment.
We decided that any money that we raise that Andrew and his family felt they didn’t truly need, will be donated to the Bone Marrow Leukaemia Trust (BMLT). The BMLT is a fantastic charity that provides funds for patients and their families so that they can pursue treatment for haematological diseases. Their incredible work makes it possible for countless people to access lifesaving treatment who otherwise could not. It is a charity that is very close to Andy’s heart and have helped him out a lot in the past, so it is hard to imagine a more worthy or relevant cause to donate any excess funds to.
The last thing I will add. This treatment is going to hopefully save Andy’s life and we would appreciate any donation no matter how big or small. Thank you!
Organizer
Philip McCarthy
Organizer
