Zachary Hunter's Cancer Battle

My nephew, Zachary Hunter is a caring, athletic, 17-year-old from Stonewall, MB and he is in need of some help. Zach is in his final year of high school at Stonewall Collegiate Institute with promising grades and aspirations to go to college next year. Sadly, this past summer, those aspirations hit a major roadblock.

In June of 2022, while playing soccer, Zach suffered a knee injury which later revealed a bone tumour on his shin. After 3 months of pain, crutches, tests, and waiting, the tumour was diagnosed as bone cancer. Further tests revealed that the cancer had spread to his lungs. Since then, he has been battling Giant Cell Rich Osteosarcoma with Lung Metastasis. Bone cancer and lung cancer. In a child that has never drank, never smoked, never done anything to deserve this. His diagnosis and condition are the epitome of unfairness. While he should be playing sports, hanging with his friends, and nearing graduation, Zach has been spending his days in hospital beds, hooked to various tubes, suffering multiple collapsed lungs, fainting spells, nausea, unimaginable pain, and round after round of chemotherapy. And he has taken it all like a champ.

Zach is so strong and has such concern for others; those close to him have had to keep this heartbreaking news close to our chests, as Zach didn’t want people to find out about his condition and worry about him. It took over a month to convince him to let us set up this campaign and to help him understand that people aren’t going to pity him, they’ll just want him to be happy and healthy and get the care that he deserves. And now help is greatly needed. All of Zach’s dreams are on hold as he fights for his life.

There are only 250 other known cases of this type of cancer in the world. And as if battling a rare form of cancer wasn’t scary enough, the expenses involved have become nightmarish, as well.

Zach’s parents, Karen and Chris Hunter, have both had to step back from their careers so that they can be at Zach's side around the clock. Missing time at work has made for a significant loss of wages. They have had to renovate their home in order to make it accessible for Zach. They have had to pay for countless tanks of gas and parking fees, just to be with their son at the hospital. They have had to pay $3400 to get a second opinion from a doctor in the U.S. in the hopes of avoiding the leg amputation that Zach's Canadian doctor is calling for. Thanks to the wait times that exist within the Canadian medical system, Zach's amputation surgery could still be months away. This is a scary prospect, as it gives the cancer more time to spread.

The expenses will continue to be overwhelming for the foreseeable future, as Zach could require at least 2 lifesaving surgeries in Toronto or the U.S. and his family will need to pay for accommodations, treatment, mobility equipment, and medications.

No child should have to suffer like this. And no family should have to worry about paying to keep their child alive. Zach is in the fight of his life and I’m hoping that with this campaign, we can make the fight a little easier for Zach and the Hunter family.

I, Chris Thompson, will be managing this page so that the Hunter family won’t be overwhelmed with messages. I will post updates whenever possible and I will do my best to answer any questions you might have. If you want to send a message of support, please feel free to post it here and I will ensure that Zach receives it.