Help Scott Armstrong Beat Glioblastoma

South Port Surf Lifesaving Club supports long-standing member Scott Armstrong and his family to fight a rare and aggressive cancer.

 

Details of his harrowing journey and challenges to overcome in the future are outlined in the following.

 

Your support is welcome and appreciated.

 

Dick "Olly" Olesinski

 

South Port SLSC Club President.

 

From the family:

On 06 December 2021, Scott was rushed to ICU and placed into an induced coma as he was having multiple seizures that were not dissipating.

 

After multiple medications to help control his seizures, he woke from his induced coma and spent 4 days of monitoring in ICU and was then moved to the Rehabilitation area and subsequently sent home.

 

Late January Scott had a follow up MRI scan and as a result of this scan Scott was called in by his Neurosurgeon where it was confirmed that he had a tumor on the left lobe of his brain that required immediate removal.

 

In the days to follow, Scott underwent intensive surgery. Doctors advised us they removed as much of the tumor as possible.

 

Through the pathology report, it was confirmed Scott was diagnosed with Grade IV Glioblastoma, an extremely rare and aggressive cancer.

 

After a couple of weeks of recovery at home Scott was to undergo a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This treatment would go for 6 weeks and has now finished. The next phase will begin in late May where Scott will undergo 6 months of intensive Chemotherapy.

 

We have two energetic children who are involved in Nippers for South Port Surf Lifesaving club and competitive swimming with Southern Performance Swimming club, as such to maintain their innocence we decided not to share Scott’s diagnoses with them.

 

From being a fit and healthy 49 year old man who participated in Kayaking marathons and Masters Surf Lifesaving events, to now requiring ten tablets a day to control his seizures and now to having cancer, has been a tremendously stressful period in our lives.

 

With Scott due to start the next phase of his treatment, returning to work is not anticipated anytime soon. Asking for help is not something that comes easily for us. However, the realisation that this journey to help Scott manage this disease is beyond my capabilities as a partner, which is incredibly heartbreaking for me to admit.

 

Although research and trials are ongoing in Australia we as a country unfortunately lag behind the international communities in regard to Glioblastoma. Therefore it is anticipated that we will be required to travel oversea for treatments at some point.

 

I am so grateful to everyone for donating and sharing Scott’s Go Fund Me page. With all the love and support that we continue to receive we are determined to leave no stone unturned to overcome this challenge.