Lowell vs. Lymphoma
Donation protected
My brother in law Lowell Picklyk (shown here with wife Staci and both girls) was first diagnosed with cancer in 2012. He has had a couple of rounds of chemotherapy treatments, radiation and more recently a stem cell transplant (from his own stem cells) in February 2016.
It’s an aggressive blood cancer, Anaplastic Large T-Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) and can target other organs in the body not just lymph nodes. It is also hard to cure and usually chemotherapy alone isn’t enough.
Unfortunately, it has come back and a CT scan in October 2017 showed tumors in his liver, and in bones in his chest, pelvis and left scapula. Some compression of a couple vertebrae has happened as well due to the tumors. It helped explain the near-constant pain he’s had for over 5 months preceding the diagnosis.
As of November 2017 he is on a targeted (lower-side effect) chemotherapy called brentuximab which has provided a lot of pain relief and appears to be doing its job well. After a couple more cycles of treatment (3 weeks per cycle) he will have another CT scan to see if the tumors have significantly reduced in size or have disappeared. This is one of the necessary checkboxes before being approved for a donor stem cell transplant. One other checkbox of course is to find a donor. There was one potential donor earlier this year in the international donor bank but search is underway to see if that’s still an option. The donor stem cell transplant is more risky than one from your own stem cells, as the donor immune system that gets built from the stem cells may not just attack the cancer cells (that’s good) but also organs in the recipient’s body. Those risks are high within the first 4-6 months and Lowell would have to live in or near Vancouver for that time as constant tests and monitoring are needed. There is also more of a chance of death through this process, and overall the oncologists figure there’s maybe a 30% chance of this process being a cure.
Lowell and Staci have decided to explore options in the US to see if there are better options, or maybe a clinical trial that has decent success as the only option presented here in Canada is high risk with low chance of cure. This fundraising effort is to help cover extra costs of travel and stay in the US as they get initial consultation, testing, and possibly treatment at a US cancer center as none of this is covered by our Canadian and extended health insurance.
FROM LOWELL: “I really appreciate Cory setting this up for us. And I thank each of you for any support you are able to give; may God bless you wonderfully! Keep us in your prayers whenever we’re brought to your mind. From all of us, thank you!”
It’s an aggressive blood cancer, Anaplastic Large T-Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) and can target other organs in the body not just lymph nodes. It is also hard to cure and usually chemotherapy alone isn’t enough.
Unfortunately, it has come back and a CT scan in October 2017 showed tumors in his liver, and in bones in his chest, pelvis and left scapula. Some compression of a couple vertebrae has happened as well due to the tumors. It helped explain the near-constant pain he’s had for over 5 months preceding the diagnosis.
As of November 2017 he is on a targeted (lower-side effect) chemotherapy called brentuximab which has provided a lot of pain relief and appears to be doing its job well. After a couple more cycles of treatment (3 weeks per cycle) he will have another CT scan to see if the tumors have significantly reduced in size or have disappeared. This is one of the necessary checkboxes before being approved for a donor stem cell transplant. One other checkbox of course is to find a donor. There was one potential donor earlier this year in the international donor bank but search is underway to see if that’s still an option. The donor stem cell transplant is more risky than one from your own stem cells, as the donor immune system that gets built from the stem cells may not just attack the cancer cells (that’s good) but also organs in the recipient’s body. Those risks are high within the first 4-6 months and Lowell would have to live in or near Vancouver for that time as constant tests and monitoring are needed. There is also more of a chance of death through this process, and overall the oncologists figure there’s maybe a 30% chance of this process being a cure.
Lowell and Staci have decided to explore options in the US to see if there are better options, or maybe a clinical trial that has decent success as the only option presented here in Canada is high risk with low chance of cure. This fundraising effort is to help cover extra costs of travel and stay in the US as they get initial consultation, testing, and possibly treatment at a US cancer center as none of this is covered by our Canadian and extended health insurance.
FROM LOWELL: “I really appreciate Cory setting this up for us. And I thank each of you for any support you are able to give; may God bless you wonderfully! Keep us in your prayers whenever we’re brought to your mind. From all of us, thank you!”
Organizer and beneficiary
Cory Durant
Organizer
Kamloops, BC
Staci Picklyk
Beneficiary
