In October 2024, Jodie noticed a tiny blood blister on Chris’s head. Within a week it had grown and started to look more like a mole. The local doctor believed it was just an infected hair follicle, sprayed it with liquid nitrogen, and told us it would fall off within a week. It didn’t, it only got bigger.

Jodie insisted they get a second opinion, and thank goodness they did. The next doctor immediately referred Chris to a skin specialist at Gumtree Medical Centre in Dubbo. As soon as she saw it, she suspected melanoma and removed part of the lesion for testing. After 20 stitches and an urgent biopsy, the results came back two days later: it was positive.

Chris was sent straight to Sydney, and on New Year’s Day this year he underwent major surgery at RPA Hospital. They operated on his head and both sides of his neck, removing cancerous lymph nodes. He ended up with 24 staples in his head, plus 9 stitches on one side of his neck and 7 on the other. The specialist told us that the doctor in Dubbo “stopped the clock”, meaning she caught it just in time.

Chris began immunotherapy immediately back at the Dubbo Cancer Unit. His schedule has been relentless:

Blood tests every Monday

Video appointments every Tuesday

Treatment every Wednesday

MRIs every two months

About four months ago, an MRI showed that the immunotherapy was no longer working. New spots had appeared on his liver. He was switched to a stronger combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab. Unlike his first treatment, which caused no side effects, this new one has been extremely tough on him. After only two weeks, he developed severe lower back pain.

This was raised his with his doctor, and he was sent for another MRI. They have been anxiously waiting for the results.

Yesterday, 9 December, they travelled to Sydney for Chris’s 12-month specialist check-up. They were told that while the new treatment is helping, his liver spots have shrunk, the cancer has now spread to his spine and into his L2 vertebra. Chris must now start radiation, and they will find out the exact plan once they return home on Thursday. His doctor warned them that this next phase is going to knock him around significantly.

Chris and Jodie are not ones to seek help from others. But the only thing that brings Chris any relief after treatment is using a full-body massage chair. It helps him relax, reduces his pain, and gives him some comfort during all of this.

On top of this, the constant travel between Peak Hill, Dubbo, and Sydney has created a huge financial burden, fuel, accommodation, food, parking, and time away from work all add up quickly. Any support would help ease that pressure and allow us to focus on Chris’s health and care.

This GoFundMe is to help support Jodie and Chris during this incredibly difficult journey, by helping us purchase a massage chair to bring Chris some comfort at home, and by relieving some of the financial strain from ongoing travel and treatment costs.

If you are able to donate, big or small, it would mean the world to them. Your kindness would help provide Chris with comfort and give them some relief during this long and emotional road ahead.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support. ❤️