Aid Tomás in his bone marrow transplant journey
Hi my name is Diarmuid kavanagh. I was planning my Everest challenge over the last few weeks with friends and I knew something was missing , I had to do it for a cause and it had to mean something to me. This is where I came across a post on Facebook where I saw Sheila’s post pleading for some help in fulfilling her brothers journey.
It struck my heart suddenly not only was he a cyclist but a cancer sufferer which in my family has had its losses and in every family it hits no doubt. The challenge I am going to do is basically a cycle uphill in which you have to climb the height of the highest mountain in the world Mount Everest (8848m).
This is done by repeatly going up and down the same climb repeatedly for about 10-11 hours. This will be more of a mental challenge than physical without a doubt. But in saying that I have a lot of support in friends and without a doubt Tomás will be cheering for me!
So I’m pleading with the public and the cycling community to be as generous as possible to help Tomás on his journey.
Meet Tomás a fellow cyclist. He was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in July 1999. It was the second of it’s type in Ireland. The Name given was Mid line Granuloma. Both the chemo and radium treatments that he received were very severe over a six month period. Tomás was given the last rights twice. With sheer will and determination he survived with major maxofacial issues which are still present today.
Tomás had been in remission for 20 years when last October he had been out cyclocross racing and hard. During the race he noticed that his heart rate measured 20 bpm above what it should have been for a lower perceived effort. He also started to experience heartburn and had some issues when eating.
After some back and forth with the GP, he had first biopsy in January 2020. While all this was in train he broke his pelvis in a bike accident in Spain in February. While in hospital there the results of the biopsy was received as inconclusive. More tests required. He came home by air ambulance straight into the Mercy University Hospital in Cork one week before Spain shut down due to Covid 19.
Two more biopsies in the MUH came up with the same results followed by a Bone Marrow biopsy and PET scan. In early April the suspected Lymphoma was confirmed - K Cell Lymphoma – in the Oesophagus and his Bone Marrow - once again very rare in Ireland.
With his course of treatments agreed, he went into the Cork University Hospital on 26th of April. Since then he has completed two 21 day SMILE cycles of Chemotherapy and is currently on day 7 of his third cycle with one more cycle to do. He has been home for Just 4 days since April to see his children.
It is this next part of his journey where Tomás needs your help. He must have a Bone Marrow transplant In St. James’ in Dublin once a donor has been found and that testing confirms that Tomás is in remission. This means he will spend a solid 3-6 months in Dublin in rented accommodation with a minder. The funds raised through this appeal will go towards medical and donor expenses not covered, the accommodation in Dublin and to help ease the financial burden for Tomás after he receives the transplant.
