Forego a Friday for the Friends

$86,250 of $90,000 goal

Given by 298 generous donors in over a year

Donate the $100 you would spend on a Friday night out a to pay for life-saving cancer drugs for Paula, in the hopes of a cure.

Canterbury

When all regular cancer treatments are tried and other options have been exhausted, there still remains hope for Paula. However, hope comes with a cost.

In 2010 when son Liam was only 2, Paula was diagnosed with a very aggressive strain of breast cancer. With the support of husband David and her family and friends, after a mastectomy, multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, she was declared cancer- free. However, 4 years later, the cancer returned. After further radiation, her oncologist sent her home with assurances that she would be fine- that it was normal for a slight flare-up and they had got it all this time. However, in mid-2016, it returned. After the THIRD round of radiation, the oncologist again gave her the all clear.

But it was not to be. In August 2017, Paula was told the cancer was back. That it will continue to recur more and more aggressively, and that her prognosis is poor. Paula has triple-negative breast cancer, which means there are limited conventional treatment options. But… there is a chance that the new immunotherapy drug Keytruda could extend her life and put Paula into full remission. Keytruda has been shown to be twice as effective as chemotherapy for skin and lung cancers, and the results so far have been spectacular for triple-negative breast cancer. Unfortunately, while its effectiveness has been proven, governments won’t fund this drug for breast cancer until clinical trials are finished, which is a few years away. Paula and David do not have this time to wait, and at a cost of $90,000 Keytruda treatment is beyond the reach of their current financial situation.

This is where you come in. Hope. Can you buy hope?

We need 900 angels. 900 generous people who will “Forego a Friday for the Friends”.

We are asking you to stay home on any given Friday, invite friends and family round and toast Paula’s good health. That $100 you would otherwise spend on your night out, donate to Paula’s Keytruda treatment. Buy her and her family some hope, and maybe a cure.

David Friend's involvement (page creator)

I'm involved because I'm Paula's husband, she is my soulmate, best friend and fantastic co-parent, and I need to keep her by my side for as long as possible.

Use of funds

All funds raised will go towards treatment for Paula with the immunotherapy drug Keytruda.

Latest update

Final Update 23 November 2018

Dearest supporters,

This page will close at the end of November and we wanted to provide a last update.

Thanks again for all of your messages and contributions towards helping Paula and our family meet our funding goal. Being able to access Keytuda has been a game-changer. While Paula's cancer isn’t cured, it is stable and we hope for a very long remission period. Paula will continue on Keytruda for at least another year, in the hopes that her condition will improve further.

We are in a much better position than we were a year ago, and could not have achieved what we have without your help, so again thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

David, Paula, Liam and Kyzer (the dog)

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