My Dad's Race Against Time

Merkel Cell Carcinoma, is an extremely rare, aggressive and dangerous form of skin cancer. Little is known about it, but what we do know is: it’s on the rise.

Please allow me to briefly introduce myself and share my Dad, John’s story. He is currently fighting this awful disease and is on a race against time.

My name is Sarah. I’m an only child and mother to four beautiful, young children.

Life for my Dad has always been a simple one. he never wanted for much. health and happiness with a loving family and friends were enough for him. Yet suddenly, and out of the blue, all of that was thrown into jeopardy.In

It was a sunny day back on 4th May 2023, a day that I will never forget. My Dad was going about his normal daily business when a routine visit to the dermatologist became way more than that. It was the day when the world as we all knew it was shattered into a million pieces.

The Doctor noticed an unusual blemish on his arm and upon further investigation and a biopsy, shared the devastating news that he had a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer: Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC).

Such a rare form of cancer means that there is a limited amount of funding, resource and research available which, to those impacted, can mean the difference between life and death. Telling me that he had such a horrendous form of cancer was the most difficult moment of our life together! The potential of Dad not seeing his grandchildren grow up was simply heartbreaking! He must fight the greatest battle of his life and that no matter what, he had to battle this horrible disease that was raging under his skin.

Whilst I could see this devastating news had left Dad feeling both physically exhausted and emotionally drained, I could also tell that he was up for the `fight of his life` and that as such the `clock was already ticking, loudly`!

My Dad had his MCC tumours surgically removed which was then followed by twelve difficult radiotherapy sessions, a number of scans and other invasive investigatory tests all of which has left him extremely fatigued, quite unwell and disappointingly, with no defined outcome as to his future being discussed or given!

Finding ourselves in this incredibly challenging situation, yet not being prepared to simply `wait for him to die`, it was devastating to have learned that, due to MCC being very rare, aggressive and with a high mortality rate, the current NHS treatment was so limited that we started to question: If the NHS treatment for MCC is so limited and possibly failing us, how many other people is it failing too?

So, we started to research everything we could about this cruel disease and by doing so, we have discovered a number of alternative available treatments! Thankfully we have now discovered a potentially life-saving solution called `enhanced dendritic cell therapy`, which has proven to be highly effective in other parts of the world.

Unfortunately, this ray of hope comes at a financial cost as it isn’t accessible through the NHS, despite being statistically proven to be far more effective in terms of extending the lives of MCC cancer patients and in certain cases, even curing them. It is for this reason we are turning to the GoFundMe community for support.

Throughout his life, my Dad has never asked for anything from anyone, in fact, the exact opposite is the case as he is a giver in life!. He has been a fundraiser for many great and charitable causes, has supported me and my young family through some very challenging times and he is one of the kindest and most caring human beings I know! Yet now the table has been turned and despite his situation looking very difficult, he is finding it extremely difficult to ask for this support.

My Dad has always maintained a positive and upbeat attitude along with a determination to `find a way` in life. So, like my Dad and in order we help him defeat this awful disease all of us now have a common cause, to do whatever we can to prolong his life.

There is no doubt that the price of the treatment plan is `heavy`, in that we need to raise £85,000 to help pay towards it. The treatment plan, known is a non-invasive technique based on stem cell replacement. It is designed to rebuild and strengthen the immune system to naturally fight cancer cells and to stop them reproducing, whilst at the same time re-engineering my Dad’s metabolism to work effectively.

Should you so kindly choose to support my Dad’s cause and he is fortunate enough to receive this potentially life-saving treatment, we will commit to providing ongoing updates and feedback about his journey (throughout and post his treatment) in order to help towards the necessary and future learning, research and funding for this currently little known aggressive cancer.

We will do this by sharing my Dad`s treatment experiences with other cancer patients, Oncologists, Doctors and as importantly, look to lobby the relevant NHS, NICE and UK Government departments and individuals in respect of this new, alternative, and innovative treatment being approved for future wider use in the UK. We have no doubt that both this treatment along with the necessary future research investment and funding could make a positive difference to so many MCC and possibly other cancer patients.

So please, should you feel it in your heart to support this urgent cause for my Dad and in turn help other Merkel Cell Carcinoma patients any donation, small or large, you, your family and your friends are willing to put toward our fundraising effort would be most gratefully received.

Thank you all so very much for reading our story.

Sarah Jane Leonard (for my loving and wonderful Dad, John Patrick Leonard)