Zach's DSRCT Cancer Treatment

On June 19, 2015 my family received the devastating news that my little brother Zach had cancer. Further testing would soon lead to an official diagnosis of Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor, a rare and aggressive soft tissue sarcoma.

Soon after his diagnosis, Zach started on a very aggressive chemo regiment called P6 which was successful in shrinking the massive tumor is his abdomen. Zach then had surgery on February 11th, 2016 to remove the main tumor as well as several smaller tumors not seen on the PET scan and a procedure called HIPEC was done which involved a hot chemo treatment directly in Zach’s abdomen.

Once Zach was home and on the mend we all breathed a sigh of relief as it appeared the fight was behind us. Then, in June of 2016 Zach’s PET scan revealed active cancer cells in a lymph node in his chest. Although we were prepared for this possibility it was still a heartbreaking blow to our family. Treatment plans were made that involved high doses of radiation and surgery to remove the node. Unfortunately further testing showed that the cancer was spreading very quickly to other nodes in Zach’s chest and abdomen. These new results eliminated the options of surgery and radiation as they would no longer be effective. Over the next few months different chemo and drug regiments were tried with no success. The cancer was still active and it was still spreading.

At this point we have exhausted the Canadian healthcare system and so we refocused our energies on alternative treatments and clinical trials that were available in the U.S. Thankfully Zach has been accepted in to a clinical trial at MD Anderson in Texas that is using immunotherapy treatments on sarcoma patients.

As our family finds hope in this new treatment we are faced with the hard and bracing reality of the monetary cost of being treated out of country. Our health care will not cover these treatments as they are considered experimental. We have not been given any information on the cost of the trial itself however the hospital requires a down payment of $24,500 USD at the time of Zach’s first appointment on January 18, 2017. Even without the cost of the trial, this first consult and the cost of flying down south every four weeks will add up very quickly.

Any of you who know Zach know what a truly remarkable young man he is. He has faced this disease with more courage and determination than can be imagined. As his family we have done everything we can to support and take care of him however it is Zach’s strength that has supported us. We ask you please to help us fight with Zach. Help us to give him a chance to beat this disease so he can live the rest of his life as he deserves. We thank you with all of our hearts for any support you can provide as well as the thoughts and prayers that continue to give us strength every day.

Thank you for taking the time to share our story.