<div><strong>Update...  Where things stand now</strong>
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<div>Since I wrote on this page, things have become clearer, and I want to bring everyone up to speed.
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<div>Vedran is currently in his third of four cycles of TIP, a salvage chemotherapy. If it continues to hold the disease stable, the path forward becomes clearer.
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<div>He now knows where that surgery would most likely happen. He has connected with Prof. Dr. Axel Heidenreich, Director of Urology at University Hospital Cologne (Uniklinik Köln), in Germany. He's one of the most experienced surgeons in Europe for exactly the operation Vedran may need, removing metastases that remain in my lymph nodes, my liver, and around major blood vessels.
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<div>The plan for Vedran is to finish chemotherapy, get restaging scans, and if results support it, travel to Cologne for evaluation and surgery.
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<div>Thank you to everyone who has supported Vedran so far. It means everything to him.  We'll keep updating as things develop.
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<div>Love,
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<div>Vedran
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<div>Some people make a lasting difference in the lives of everyone they meet. To us, Vedran, our friend, is those people.
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<div>For as long as we have known him, he has been a source of JOY, friendship, kindness, and unwavering support. He is the person who offered encouragement when times were TOUGH, and brought light to all of our lives. Recently, he was diagnosed with cancer, and the news has deeply affected everyone who knows him. The treatment he needs is not available in our country, so he must travel overseas to receive the care that could save his life. This journey is not only physically and emotionally challenging, but it also comes with overwhelming financial burdens.
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<div>We, his friends, are asking others to help support someone who has always been there for everyone else.
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<div>The funds raised through this campaign will go directly toward covering his medical bills, treatment costs, and the expenses associated with traveling abroad. We also want to ensure his two kids can be with him if they need to travel, so part of the support will help them stay close during this difficult time. Every contribution, <strong>no matter the size</strong>, will make a meaningful difference in his fight against cancer and help keep his family together.
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<div>Our dear college friend, who remained a friend forever, needs our help. We need him healthy again. We need him smiling again. We need him making movies again. Please read his story below, it will explain why this fundraising is so important. We love him and need him.
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<div>We hope you will help us remind him that he is surrounded by a community that cares deeply about him.
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<div>My name is Vedran. I am 46 years old, a husband, a father and a filmmaker from Serbia.
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<div>For the last two years, cancer has been a part of my life. I thought that chapter was ending. Instead, I am facing the hardest part yet, and I need help.
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<div>Two years ago, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Seminoma. The surgery went well. The cancer was removed cleanly, and I received one preventive cycle of chemotherapy as a precaution. The statistics were reassuring. More than 95% of patients are cured. So, I went home believing the worst was behind me.
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<div>It wasn't.
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<div>The cancer came back. Hard.
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<div>In just a few months, a 25-millimeter lymph node grew into masses more than 10 centimeters across. The disease spread through my retroperitoneum, pelvis, and groin. It reached my liver. It infiltrated major blood vessels and caused a clot in my inferior vena cava. By the time it was discovered, it had become advanced metastatic cancer.
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<div>From December to March, I underwent four cycles of intensive chemotherapy. It was a difficult course, with complications that came with the treatment as well as the disease itself.
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<div>It wasn't enough.
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<div>A recent PET scan showed viable cancer still present in the same areas. The disease remains active and is very likely beginning to grow again.
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<div>The next step is salvage chemotherapy, which is more intensive and more toxic than anything I have already received. After that, I will very likely need a major surgery to remove what remains. The operation is particularly complex because the tumors sit directly against my aorta, vena cava, and iliac blood vessels, and have already begun infiltrating them.
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<div>My doctors in Belgrade have reviewed my latest scans and advised me to seek surgery abroad. This is the kind of operation where experience matters. Centers such as Vienna and Berlin perform these procedures regularly, treating large numbers of patients with advanced tumors like mine. They also have access to clinical trials and treatment options that are limited or unavailable in Serbia.
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<div>Most importantly, <strong>there is still a real path forward</strong>.
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<div>My doctors believe that salvage treatment followed by specialist surgery offers a genuine chance of cure and long-term remission. <strong>That chance is what I am fighting for.</strong>
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<div>I trust my doctors in Belgrade. They have done everything they can. But the public healthcare system is under an enormous pressure. I often had to turn to private clinics and labs simply to keep pace with how quickly the disease was moving. Scans, specialist consultations, blood tests, procedures, and follow-up care frequently had to be paid for out of pocket.
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<div>For long stretches of the last two years, I was unable to work. My wife carried our family on her income alone while we covered these costs ourselves. We managed to get this far.
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<div>What comes next is beyond what we can fund alone.
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<div>My family and I are contributing everything we reasonably can. The funds raised here will help cover specialist consultations, travel, accommodation, surgery preparation, treatment abroad, and the many medical expenses that fall outside the Serbian healthcare system.
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<div>If circumstances change and additional treatment becomes necessary, I will update this campaign honestly and transparently.
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<div>For me, this is about more than money.
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<div>It is about more years.
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<div>More time with my wife, my kids, and the people I love. More work to finish. More films to make and see. More ordinary days…
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<div>If you can help, THANK YOU.
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<div>Whether you donate, share this campaign, or pass it on to someone else, every contribution makes a difference.
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<div>Five euros, fifty, or five hundred. Every donation moves me one step closer to treatment and one step closer to the future I am fighting for.
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<div>Thank you for your love,
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<div>Vedran
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Petar Zjajic

Svjetlana Palikovic

Tanja Dukic

Anonymous

Dragan Gajanovic

Vanja Gajic

Dejan Rakita

Deni Talevski

Sinisa Stjepanovic

Maja Stojisavljevic

Andrej Kaurin

Elvis Badnjevic

Orjana Coleman

Borislav Tadic

Alisa Nikcevic

Drasko Acimovic

Dunja Pejic

Help My College Friend Fight Cancer

Help My College Friend Fight Cancer

Still $39,080 to go. Help us build momentum.