Help Support Chris in the Fight of his life against an aggressive form of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cancer.
Help Support Chris in the Fight of his life against an aggressive form of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cancer.
Waikato
Chris has been battling a very aggressive Squamous cell carcinoma cancer to his face and had a major operation last November to have this removed. The operation involved removing the cancer from his face, removing his lymph nodes and the parotid gland, and a suspicious nodule leaving a massive cavity which they have filled with muscle from his right hand leg and skin from the same area.
On top of that, because of the fine margin of surgery, this was followed by weeks of radiation treatment.
Unfortunately, even with the surgery and radiation, the cancer has returned. It is very aggressive, having grown while Chris was having radiation.
The prognosis is not good and Chris has been told he has around 6 months to live.
So, on discussion with his surgeon and oncologist the best way forward is a drug called Keytruda and this offers Chris about a 60% chance to live.
Although Keytruda is funded for some head and neck squamous cell carcinoma types in NZ, Chris's particular variant of squamous cell carcinoma is not currently funded. The cost to Chris and his family will be $100,000 for the first year of treatment.
Despite all of this, Chris is mentally strong and wants to fight this with everything he has.
Chris and his partner Karen are now retired. Chris has been a former surf life saver out at Karekare, and a Volunteer Fire Fighter. Chris has given so much of his free time to helping others in their time of need, and now it's our time to help Chris!
Mark Coleman's involvement (page creator)
Chris is like a brother to me, it was because of his encouragement that I became a volunteer firefighter. Over the years I have seen him tirelessly volunteer and give back to the community, now it's our time to give back to Chris!
Use of funds
- Keytruda treatment
- Oncologist visits/scans
- Bills and household expenses
- Funeral expenses, in the unfortunate event that we need to plan for this
- General care and well-being to ensure Chris has the support he needs
Latest update
Keytruda Report Number 18 26 March 2026
Hi everyone
This will be the last Keytruda report presented on the Give-A-Little page as this page has now run its 12 month course
Its been an intense 12 months of Keytruda treatments, scans, 3 x weekly blood tests, oncologist reviews and hospital visits
So from the start of my cancer journey back in June 2024 we are only a couple months away from the two year mark
This week I have had a full body PET CT scan to check for metastatic cancer, that is cancer that has spread to other locations in my body, the results will be a few days away
I had blood tests this morning and have Keytruda treatment on Friday this week
Just want to say a big thank-you to everyone who has supported me and if you would like to continue receiving up dates please feel free to contact me via email : penthouse2piha@xtra.co.nz
Bless all of you and thank-you once again, lots love coming your way, the journey is not over
Cheers Chris
Latest donations
Thank you Bev and John, your support means so much!
Thank you David - this is very much appreciated!
Thank you so much Beth, this really is appreciated :-)
Thanks so much Lyn, Chris has asked me to pass on to you - a big thank you, your support means so much to him.
Thanks so much Jean and Keith, your continued support means so much to Chris and Karen - thanks again.
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