Cancer support for Ivan Smart
Cancer support for Ivan Smart
Napier, Hawke's Bay
Everyone knows Ivan as the jovial lifeguard of the Onekawa Aquatic Centre, where he had worked for the past 29 years. Recently moving to Hawke's Bay Regional Aquatic Centre, where he thought he would work until his retirement.
After nearly 2 months of pain and struggle and a quick deterioration with loss of mobility, on April 6th 2023 at 63 years old, Ivan was diagnosed was a metastatic cervical spine mass and urgently flew to Christchurch for emergency spinal surgery... Radiation followed. Ivan was then also diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer and a primary cancer of nasopharyngeal.
He has since returned to Hawke's Bay and has started chemotherapy.
Ivan has been recommended natural medicine to help extend his life and improve the quality of life, in the form of subcutaneous mistletoe. Unfortunately this is an expensive treatment so we have been encouraged to start a give a little page to help Ivan fund alternative treatment and give us extra precious time.
Funds will be purely spent on any treatment Ivan wishes to pursue and end of life care, to ensure a comfortable cancer journey.
Anita SMART's involvement (page creator)
Ivan is my Father
Use of funds
Cancer treatment +/- end of life care.
Unfunded treatment - mistletoe
Funds going to Lorraine, Ivan's wife.
Other page links
Latest update
Immunotherapy 17 February 2024
A short update about how Ivan is doing....
With the news that Ivan's cancer had showed up in his liver, we decided to go ahead and start another line of treatment - Immunotherapy. The Oncologist has said that this usually has a better response rate than Chemotherapy, but unfortunately, it is not funded so that's why it is not offered as a first line treatment.
This costs about $10,000 per session, until we reach around 70k which we have paid - then it will be partially funded.
Ivan will be using his Kiwisaver money, but we are thinking of starting another page to help pay for this.
He is managing really well at the moment and went for his second swim yesterday, since his diagnosis - 1km in 45 mins. He also regularly walks and is able to do so unaided.
Ivan would like to thank everyone for the support he has received so far.
Latest donations
Thank you guys 🥰
Thank you ❤️
Thanks for the generous donation 🥰
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