Help my dad meet his 1st grandchild (cancer care)

My name is Natalie and I am starting this fundraiser for my father Howard.

My dad has been battling cancer since March of 2017. He was first diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer at Humber River Hospital. He has been lucky to be receiving world-renowned cancer care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre for the last 6 years. We will be forever grateful for the wonderful care he has received from Dr. Krzyzanowska, Dr. Moulton, Dr. Grant and so so many other wonderful people on his care team over the years.

Unfortunately after the initial surgery and chemotherapy round, his cancer was found to have spread to the liver which required additional surgery and chemotherapy. About 6 months later, the cancer was found in the colon again and since that time he was on and off of several chemo regimens for several years. Then in November 2022 he was found to no longer be responding to the chemo, but was fortunate to be a candidate for a clinical trial at PMCC. He was on that protocol for a few months and then early summer 2023 was found to no longer be responding to that drug. Therefore he is considered to be on a 4th-line Cancer treatment, which is the last step before compassionate hospice/palliative care. His options at that point were to start on a monthly experimental drug (that is costly and not covered by OHIP or any private insurance) or to restart on one of the previous IV chemotherapy that he was on in the past. He was initially started on the previous chemotherapy, but unfortunately he is having an allergic reaction to the PICC line (i.e., any drug administered via IV) and/or the chemotherapy drug itself. That leaves him with the only option being the costly chemotherapy pill, that my parents would have to pay privately for.

He is a wonderful hard-working man who has been the most incredible father to my myself and my sister. He has supported every dream we have ever had and has always been there for the good and the bad days. He has been there to help me during late nights studying in high school, during my undergraduate degree and now into my graduate school journey to becoming a Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist. He is so incredibly proud of my sister Imbar, who after graduating from the RTA program at TMU 2 years ago has fulfilled her life-long dream of making Aliyah and is now building a life for herself in Israel. He has been the best Saba to his 2 grand-doggies Lacey and Piper!

I am currently expecting my first child, a baby boy, with my husband Brandon after a long journey with infertility. Both sides of the family are over the moon! I know that all my dad wants is to meet and love his grandson, be there for the bris and for other milestones as he grows up. While he don’t know that the future holds for my dad, Brandon and I want more than anything for my dad to be able to be there to meet his first grandchild.

The medication I mentioned above costs $2500 USD monthly (~$3300 CDN monthly). We want to start with the initial goal of raising funds so that my dad can be on the drug for at least 9 months - until his next birthday in June 2024. My family would be forever grateful for anything you can spare to help my dad fight this horrible cancer and allow him to be there to hold his first grandchild in his arms.