Martin Lintag's Support Fund

UPDATE April 24, 2019:

With a heavy heart, we are saddened to share that Martin Lintag peacefully passed away on the evening of Sunday, April 21 after a courageous battle with leukemia. Our deepest condolences and thoughts are with Martin’s parents, Linda and Bong, and his extended family at this time. 

If you would like to donate to Martin's memorial fund, please see this link below: https://www.gofundme.com/martinlintagmemorialfund. Martin's parents would like to express their gratitude by donating Martin’s memorial fund to the Canadian Blood Services’ Stem Cell Division as a small token of thanks to the team and all the volunteers for their tireless efforts coordinating blood and stem cell drives.

Thank you all for your tremendous generosity and support. It is inspiring seeing friends, family members, and even strangers, rally behind Martin during his illness, and help ease some of his burdens. The love shown is deeply appreciated by his family. Thank you all.

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UPDATE February 5th, 2019: Please see Martin's update on his journey so far, and his next medical steps:

"Hi all

I was diagnosed with mixed-phenotype acute leukemia (acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia) a few days after my 30th birthday in July 2018. I had been super active prior to my diagnosis – playing dodgeball as part of the Vancouver Dodgeball League, ultimate Frisbee as part of the Vancouver Ultimate League, beach and indoor volleyball as part of Urban Rec and Volleyball BC, and coaching and bowling in 10-pin leagues for years – so it all came as a surprise.

Following a strep throat infection that was not healing, I was sent to do a blood test, after which I was told to go to the Emergency Room at Vancouver General Hospital immediately. I was admitted right away and ended up staying there for nearly three months. Since I began chemotherapy I developed mucormycosis, a life-threatening fungal infection, affecting my small intestine, right lung, and liver. I eventually needed 50 cm of diseased small intestine removed as eating became excruciating painful and I could no longer make bowel movements.

Afterwards I had to re-learn how to eat and walk, and continue my six rounds of chemotherapy to try put the cancer into remission. Last week, my doctors told me my cancerous cells had jumped to 60% and that they could only offer me palliative care.

The truth is, I may only have as little as three months to live. I am worried about my parents as my little brother passed away nearly 10 years ago, and I am the only child left. The past few days have been a whirlwind. We are currently looking into alternative options outside Canada, particularly Seattle and possibly elsewhere. There are clinical trials available to patients there.

However, we will have to pay for everything out of pocket: this includes medical costs (~$1,000 for the consultation, ~$20,000 for the deposit, $500,000+ for treatment, in addition to living costs as we will have to rent and live in the area for over two months). We are determined to find a cure, while packing as much life as possible into the time that I may have left. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The funds raised will help with:

• Living costs as I have not worked in the past year, and my partner has been on leave since November
• Travel, accommodation, and living costs for me and my family as we attend clinical trials to help me fight cancer as long as I possibly can
• Pay for medical treatments abroad, as there are no more options left for me in Canada

Thanks for hearing out my story!

Martin"

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Our dear friend and ultimate teammate, Martin “Marty” Lintag was recently diagnosed with two rare forms of blood cancer - Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

ALL is a cancer that originates from the early version of white blood cells (lymphocytes) in bone marrow. AML is also found in bone marrow, but develops in other types of blood cells. Since ALL and AML are both aggressive forms of leukemia, Marty will be undergoing immediate chemotherapy and radiation treatments, as well as a stem cell transplant.

As most of you know, Marty has been a long time member of the Black Huck Down ultimate team and the Vancouver ultimate community. In his own quiet and determined way, he is a talented teammate who is always encouraging and supportive, on and off the field. In addition to ultimate, Marty is also an amazing bowler! This is a guy who consistently bowls a perfect game. Marty, there is no way we are going to let leukemia strike you out!

The road to recovery will be long and challenging. For all the ways Marty has encouraged and supported us, we as a team, and as a community, are here to encourage and support Marty throughout the whole process. Over the coming weeks and months, Marty will be in the hospital receiving treatment. This GoFundMe page is set-up to not only help support Marty, but to also lend a helping hand to his family and girlfriend Lily while they provide him with frontline care. The funds collected here will go directly to Marty and his family to cover additional medical costs and other expenses so that he can focus solely on his health and recovery.



There are other ways we can help:

Sign-up to be a stem cell donor

As a part of Marty’s treatment, he will be undergoing a stem cell transplant and he will need to find a compatible stem cell donor. Fewer than 25 percent of patients who need stem cell transplants find a compatible donor in their own family. Please consider registering to be a OneMatch stem cell donor today: https://blood.ca/en/stem-cell/onematch-information-new-registrants

Make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada
http://www.llscanada.org/

Match4Martin Campaign website
https://www.match4martin.com/

Thank you for your generosity and support.

Sincerely,

Marty’s ulti fam