Please help Peter continue with his unfunded cancer treatment
Wellington
Please help a wonderful man who has dedicated his life to his family and animal welfare. He needs life-altering medication that is not funded in New Zealand and we need some help to pay the costs. Any amount big or small will make a huge difference to a great person and his family.
Please read on for more on Peter’s story as told by Vicki his partner.
Peter, my partner of more than 40 years, has terminal lung cancer despite being a lifelong non-smoker. His treatment is unfunded in New Zealand and costs nearly $11,000 every 50 days. We are asking for your help to give Peter a good quality of life for as long as possible so that he can continue his important work for animals.
My 59-year-old partner Peter Mason has dedicated his life to animal welfare. He has spent more than 30 years working to help animals locally, nationally and internationally. From early beginnings as a volunteer with Wellington SPCA, he progressed to chair of the board for many years, finally serving briefly as its CEO. At the national level, Peter served on the New Zealand SPCA board for over a decade, including 10 years as national president, and was appointed to various government animal welfare committees.
Then in 2004 Peter began an international career with WSPA (now World Animal Protection), a global animal charity. Peter’s work for World Animal Protection involved a lot of overseas travel, and he was in Thailand in March 2018 working to help an elephant sanctuary when he fell ill and was taken to hospital. Tests showed that he’d suffered 2 or 3 strokes over several weeks and also had a significant lung lesion. His doctors told him he’d been very lucky that there was little lasting impairment from the strokes.
Peter was finally well enough to travel home to New Zealand a month later. Further tests confirmed that he had a 35mm cancerous lesion in one lung, along with cancerous areas in both lungs and several bones. His doctors believed that the strokes Peter had suffered were likely to have been caused by the cancer. This was devastating news. We were told that the response rate from chemotherapy for his particular type of cancer (lung adenocarcinoma) would be around 40%. However, there were targeted therapies potentially available if he had one of a number of specific genetic mutations that can occur with this cancer. Treatment was funded for some of the mutations, but unfortunately he tested negative for these.
Testing could be done for ALK and ROS-1 mutations. Only 1-4% of people had either of these mutations so Peter’s chances were very low but, if he did, there were two drugs (Crizotinib and Ceritinib) that had been shown to have a 70-80% response rate and could potentially extend his life expectancy significantly. However, the drugs were unfunded in New Zealand and the cost of treatment was around $10,000 per month.
After some thought we decided it would be better to know whether Peter had these mutations or we’d always wonder. While we were awaiting the test results, Peter’s health continued to deteriorate – he had vision problems, a persistent cough, headaches, nausea and very little energy. Most of his time was spent resting or sleeping.
When the mutation test results finally came back in June, we were stunned to find that Peter had both the ALK and ROS-1 mutations. This was very unusual (so much so that the samples were re-tested to be sure) and certainly unexpected.
We now had to find the money to fund the treatment Peter desperately needed and were very fortunate that a family member was able to help with this for the time being. However, before the first course of treatment could begin, Peter had another stroke which left him unable to walk. An MRI showed that he’d actually suffered 2 or 3 more strokes since returning to New Zealand.
A month in hospital followed. Treatment on Crizotinib began and Peter gradually learnt to walk again through intensive physiotherapy, sheer determination and a positive attitude. Occupational therapy – and simply time – also helped his cognitive functions to return. After five weeks he changed to Ceritinib (which has to be brought in from the UK) as it is more cost-effective and has the potential to control the cancer for longer. This is at a cost of $10,950 for 50 days’ treatment.
Since starting treatment Peter has improved so much. He is now back at work full time and can walk and function almost normally, although his vision has not returned 100%. Recent MRI and CT scans have shown that his body is responding to treatment in all areas and the lesion in his lung has already shrunk by a quarter. He has also not suffered any further strokes.
Please help us to continue funding this treatment for Peter so that he can have a good quality of life and continue his significant work helping animals globally for as long as possible.
I am a friend of Peter and his partner Vicki and know them through our shared involvement in the SPCA and passion for animal welfare.
Peter needs life-altering medication that is not funded in New Zealand and we need some help to pay the costs. Any amount big or small will make a huge difference and allow Peter to continue his work in animal welfare
100% of the funds raised will go towards Peter's continued treatment including unfunded drugs, administration costs and future care. Any surplus will be donated to the SPCA and World Animal Protection.
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