Donation protected
I am organizing this fund raiser in support of a cancer treatment for my cousin Dragan Rakic , 59, who lives in Bosnia And Herzegovina. In our family as well as in his community Dragan is known as mild mannered, kind and generous person always willing to offer a helping hand. I myself was a beneficiary of his generosity on more then one occasion. During the difficult years of civil war in ex-Yugoslavia he helped me and my family both financially and logistically navigate these troublesome times that led to my wonderful new life in Canada. His big heart and wise mind is often called upon first in both our family and his community. He is "that person" that always gets called first for help, regardless of what the need is. This time, he needs my help, our help.
Throughout his life he has struggled with health issues. His young adult years were often spent in hospitals and not for short spells. While working on his Law School degree he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. He had to put his "regular life" on hold and focus completely on that battle. Eventually, his strong will and spirit prevailed and he was able to successfully beat the disease and continue his studies and graduate from Law School. In recent years he has developed diabetes and that has had a lot of negative effects on his overall health.
Earlier this year after feeling some pain breathing he went to seek medical help and after completing a thorough body scan he was diagnosed with lung cancer. The good news is that it is a relative small area affecting only one bronchia and the cancer has not spread anywhere else in his body. The best course of action would be to surgically remove these cells, however, due to it's location being dangerously close to his airways this was not an option. After extensive consultations that included even specialists working on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean it was concluded that the best course of action would be a fairly recent immunotherapy using Keytruda immunotherapy drug. This drug has been called "the game changer" in cancer treatment, particularly lung cancer and melanoma. It works on the bases of both "unmasking" cancer cells and strengthening the body's immune system to fight them (more details here-> https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/second-opinion-immunotherapy-1.4633233 , https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/keytruda-1.4621895 )
The drawback of this therapy is simple: cost. In Canada, an annual supply of this drug costs $110,000CAD. The price is similar in Bosnia too, $5,000 euro for about 1 month worth of treatment. This is a price that very, very few can afford without a good will and generosity of others particularly in a developing country such as Bosnia. I am happy to report that so far Dragan was able to collect enough for 2 months of treatment, he has successfully received the first treatment and is currently undergoing the 2nd treatment. He is in good spirits and feeling better, stronger. The goal of this fund raiser is to collect enough for one month worth of treatment and considering that the cancer is localized and in the early stage, we are hopeful that this might just be enough. Recommended donation would be $100CAD or $50CAD but I do realize that these are difficult times for a lot of us, so, any amount that you can afford would be graciously most welcome and appreciated. Also, if you are able to help share this pledge with more people it would be most appreciated. I believe that with help from all of you good people, one good soul has a real chance of survival.
Thank you all kindly!
Sasha Rakic
Throughout his life he has struggled with health issues. His young adult years were often spent in hospitals and not for short spells. While working on his Law School degree he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. He had to put his "regular life" on hold and focus completely on that battle. Eventually, his strong will and spirit prevailed and he was able to successfully beat the disease and continue his studies and graduate from Law School. In recent years he has developed diabetes and that has had a lot of negative effects on his overall health.
Earlier this year after feeling some pain breathing he went to seek medical help and after completing a thorough body scan he was diagnosed with lung cancer. The good news is that it is a relative small area affecting only one bronchia and the cancer has not spread anywhere else in his body. The best course of action would be to surgically remove these cells, however, due to it's location being dangerously close to his airways this was not an option. After extensive consultations that included even specialists working on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean it was concluded that the best course of action would be a fairly recent immunotherapy using Keytruda immunotherapy drug. This drug has been called "the game changer" in cancer treatment, particularly lung cancer and melanoma. It works on the bases of both "unmasking" cancer cells and strengthening the body's immune system to fight them (more details here-> https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/second-opinion-immunotherapy-1.4633233 , https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/keytruda-1.4621895 )
The drawback of this therapy is simple: cost. In Canada, an annual supply of this drug costs $110,000CAD. The price is similar in Bosnia too, $5,000 euro for about 1 month worth of treatment. This is a price that very, very few can afford without a good will and generosity of others particularly in a developing country such as Bosnia. I am happy to report that so far Dragan was able to collect enough for 2 months of treatment, he has successfully received the first treatment and is currently undergoing the 2nd treatment. He is in good spirits and feeling better, stronger. The goal of this fund raiser is to collect enough for one month worth of treatment and considering that the cancer is localized and in the early stage, we are hopeful that this might just be enough. Recommended donation would be $100CAD or $50CAD but I do realize that these are difficult times for a lot of us, so, any amount that you can afford would be graciously most welcome and appreciated. Also, if you are able to help share this pledge with more people it would be most appreciated. I believe that with help from all of you good people, one good soul has a real chance of survival.
Thank you all kindly!
Sasha Rakic
Organizer
Sasha Rakic
Organizer
North York, ON