Help Chandrakanth Fight Leukaemia

On behalf of Chandrakanth Madireddy, I am sincerely requesting the wider community to open your hearts to help him fight the biggest battle of his life.

Recently in April, my friend received the devastating news that he has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a type of blood cancer common in males above the age of 60. I am making this GoFundMe page in the hope to gather the support of both local and international communities to help Chandrakanth overcome this massive hurdle.

Chandrakanth, a 27 year old student, has migrated to Australia from India in 2019 with the goal to pursue his Master’s degree in Computing and Innovation from the University of Adelaide. Personally, I have known Chandrakanth for more than 20 years, going as far back as our primary school days. Despite the difficulties and tragedies he faced at a young age like the passing of his mother when he was in 7th grade, he has always used these experiences as motivation to achieve his dreams. The journey to commence further tertiary education in Australia has already been on the back of tremendous emotional and financial support from close and extended family back in India. To help Chandrakanth in his fight against cancer, we will need the help of the community.

Chandrakanth originates from a middle-class family, with his father working as an agricultural labourer and also earned the sole income for the family after the passing of his mother. This situation required Chandrakanth to take on the responsibility of caring for his 2 sisters, while focusing on his education to ensure his father could continue providing for the family. It is unfortunate that he has to experience yet another obstacle. His father and sisters are limited in their capacity to assist with ongoing medical expenses. We are confident that TOGETHER we can help him fight leukaemia and win this battle against cancer.

THE DIAGNOSIS

In around March and April, Chandrakanth was experiencing severe body pains and fever to the point where it restricted his ability to walk and participate in his usual day-to-day activities. He endured this pain for over a month, under the assumption that it will subside and that he will feel better. However, regular blood clots in his neck causing additional pain prompted him to seek medical assistance. After visiting Burwood Medical Centre to undertake a blood tests, he was advised to seek urgent admission into Concord Hospital for further assessment and treatment. Medical professionals stated that if Chandrakanth had endured the pain for any longer, the consequences of his disease could have been fatal. A few days later, in consultation with the haematologists, he was informed that he had blood cancer.

Medical specialists from Concord Hospital have been managing and monitoring Chandrakanth’s condition in collaboration with other haematologists from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. So far, two rounds of chemotherapy have been conducted, with the second round showing some encouraging results, allowing his treatment to progress onto the next stage of commencing the global search for a bone marrow donor. This process will take around 8-10 weeks, by which point we will need to be ready to pay the required expenses.

ONGOING MEDICAL EXPENSES

The costs associated with this treatment can tend to be extremely expensive, in usual cases making it hard to afford, however, almost impossible in Chandrakanth’s case. We have already seen tremendous heart from friends and family in Australia, who have been able to selflessly contribute to the upfront deposit of $5,000 AUD to the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) in order to begin the worldwide search for Chandrakanth's donor.

Once the search finds a potential donor, there will be additional costs associated with acquiring the cells and the associated courier or freight, which will depend on the type of collection (PBSC, marrow or cord) and the location of the donor. The indicative costs range up to $80,000 AUD. We are aiming to raise $100,000 AUD so that we can help Chandrakanth cover the costs of the treatment, transportation of the donated bone marrow as well as for recovery and rehabilitation.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This is where we are asking for your help. I can appreciate that everyone has their own financial limitations, however, any amount you can contribute will ensure Chandrakanth is one step closer to receiving this life-saving treatment.

FURTHER DETAILS

If you require any further details about Chandrakanth, please do not hesitate to contact me, Sravan Elgamoni on +61 466 554 402 or Sreenadh Brahmapuram on +61 425 216 499.