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Help buy Roger a little more time with his family

  • We have great news!

      3 March 2024
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    Roger has finished with Immunotherapy and has been declared CANCER FREE! He posted these words and images on Facebook in December. For those of you not on Facebook, here is his update.

    "The CT scan images on the left were scanned in Dec 23. The images on the right are from the day before Apr 22. You'll see from the images on the right my abdomen was CRAMMED with tumours (shown as grey lumps) – it was this day that the oncologist gave me a month or so to live and said it was not prudent to have another infusion (had only had one at this stage). I insisted on a second infusion and the atmosphere got quite tense in his office but he gave in after I would not take no for an answer with an absolute and unwavering firmness. What did we have to lose apart from the 17k cost (which you generous people enabled)?

    It is with a profound sense of relief and thankfulness that I post this. To confront your own imminent death is a bone chilling shock that assaults every sense to the core and that I wish no other person would have to experience.

    Please accept my heartfelt and deepest gratitude and gratefulness to all those who donated to my givealittle page. Quite simply, you have saved my life. Tears well up just thinking about what you have done for me.

    I feel this gratitude every day and will never forget your selfless act of giving. Enjoy wherever and whatever you are doing and take a little time to stop and think how each waking moment is precious. Life can change in a minute."

      2 comments  |  Login to leave a comment

    • 04/03/2024 by Denis

      Hi Roger and Vanessa. This is fantastic news - a miracle. Enjoy life :-)

    • 16/03/2024 by Nikki

      I am thrilled to hear of this miracle and pray you will enjoy every moment you have been given.

  • Update May 2023

      19 May 2023

    We thought it was about time for another update. Especially after the good news we received yesterday.

    Roger’s cancer journey is now at about the 18-month mark. He has just passed one year of Keytruda/Pembrolizumab infusions, having had his ‘lucky 13th’ dose yesterday.

    The meeting with the Oncologist yesterday was very much more positive than we have ever had with him before. He reminded us that this time last year, tumours were threatening to burst out of Roger’s abdomen. He showed us through the CT scan pictures, comparing the April 2022 ones with the May 2023 ones. The difference was remarkable! Not much room in that belly for anything but tumours last year and this year all that remains is a bit of blurry scar tissue!

    Over this past year, Roger has been having three-monthly CT scans and six-weekly Keytruda infusions. Now that Roger has had many ‘unremarkable’ scans, the Oncologist has recommended extending to six-monthly CT scans but keeping the six-weekly infusions. And for the first time, he has even talked about possibly stopping treatments! He is considering perhaps only one more year of Keytruda. He tells us that we’d have known fairly early in the piece if Keytruda was not going to work. And we are well past this milestone now. The drug has taught Roger’s body how to fight the cancer and his body is doing it all on its own now. The words NED – No Evidence of Disease were uttered yesterday for the first time. Cancer FREE! We are still trying to let those words sink in.

    The oncologist tells us there is talk within the Government about some public funding possibly becoming available for Immunotherapy and the recommendation is that it is capped at two years of treatments. By the time this funding might become available, Roger will have had about that, so it’s not a great deal of help to us. But will GREATLY benefit MANY cancer patients in the future.

    If you remember back when we began this journey we called this Give-a-Little page “Help buy Roger a little more time with his family”. Well, it looks like this wonder drug has done this and so so much more!

    So we would again like to extend our heartfelt and profound gratitude to you wonderful generous souls who gave money to our cause (and made us meals, and loved on us), because, without all those things, Roger would NOT be here with us today. Every time we talk about your generosity, Roger can’t help but have tears in his eyes and as we sit here by the fire on this wonderfully drizzly afternoon in South Canterbury it really sinks in just how incredibly lucky we are on so many levels. Roger feels like the doors to his future are opening again. One by one. You’ve given him his life back.

    Thank you again. X

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  • Merry Christmas!

      9 December 2022

    We started this Give-a-little page back in March this year and we were so incredibly grateful to all of you beautiful souls who donated to our cause. It was a bit overwhelming, to be honest.

    As 2022 draws to an end, Roger and I have been looking back over the (let's be honest here) HELLISH year we have had, and we thought it might be time for an update.

    To be completely honest, I have not really wanted to give any kind of update until just now, as I've not been confident of any kind of future. In fact, just before Easter, Roger’s oncologist was certain that Roger only had a short few weeks left with us, and tried to refuse him his second treatment. Fortunately, because of the many generous donations from you guys, we were able to put our foot down and insist on that second treatment. And the news has been getting better and better since then!

    It's now been nine months that Roger has been on Immunotherapy and the last couple of CT scans have given such great results that we are quietly feeling a little bit hopeful. At this stage all of Roger's tumours have either shrunk, disappeared completely, or remain stable in size (which could in fact suggest that they are dead). The oncologist has taken great pains to suggest that this may not be a permanent state of affairs, and that someday the cancer could well decide it has enough strength to take over again. But on the other hand, he admits it’s just as likely that Roger can continue to fight it off, with the help of Keytruda. And of course, as we knew at the beginning, the treatments are now partially funded, so the cost is not nearly as debilitating as it was back at the beginning.

    If you met Roger on the street, you would never know he was fighting this battle. He is looking so well, has good colour in his face, and has a healthy appetite, which is helping to keep his energy levels up. He deals with daily side effects from the drug – body aches, muscle spasms, blocked nose, fatigue – but has some other drugs that are helping him to deal with that pain. And I’m so very proud of how he’s been dealing with such a life-changing situation, taking each day as it comes with his signature wicked sense of humour, high energy zest for life and positive outlook.

    So thank you all once again for your generosity and continued prayers and positive vibes. All those things, along with this wonder-drug Pembrolizumab/Keytruda, have ensured we have our beloved husband/father/son/brother/uncle here with us for Christmas, and for so much longer than we expected. And hopefully so much longer still!

Merry Christmas you guys. I hope you all have a safe, happy and fulfilling holiday period.

    Much love,

    Roger and Vanessa XX

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  • First Treatment underway

      26 March 2022
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    From Roger: “So it begins. The first treatment of Pembrolizumab was on Friday 25th March. $8000 a pop! Thanks so so much to all who felt it in their hearts to donate to help me get to this point. I have tears of gratitude in my eyes.”

    It was a big day on Friday with Radiation and Immunotherapy both in different hospitals up in Christchurch. Rog was already feeling quite fatigued after spending the previous four days in Hospice in Timaru.

      1 comment  |  Login to leave a comment

    • 27/03/2022 by Lisa

      This is a hard journey for you all - we are thinking of you and hoping there are moments of good along the way.