Please Help Brett Solley With His Cancer Battle

Our dear friend, father and loving husband Brett Solley has been through a heartbreakingly rough time. Back in September of 2020, much to the shock of us all, he was rushed into hospital, underwent emergency surgery and diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer.

In short, this cancer grows incredibly fast. To date Brett has needed two surgeries, 4 months of intense chemotherapy, a week of high dose radiation treatment and is currently paying for a 6 month course of 2 unfunded drugs (Cetuximab and Encorafenib) which he has been told is his only hope to help keep him here with his family.

Please read on for the full story below if you would like. All we ask is, please help him out if you can. Any donations will be gratefully received and even messages of encouragement or support would be greatly appreciated! He needs all the help he can get to pay for the drugs, and to support his daughters and wife through this trying time. His family needs their dad and husband, and we need our friend. All your thoughts and donations are greatly appreciated!

(Story Continues).

Brett’s story really begins in May 2020 when, during level 4 lockdown, his heavily pregnant wife took him to the local Dr with crippling abdominal pain. The initial diagnosis was diverticulitis, but a colonoscopy was recommended (and understood to have been requested) to get a proper diagnosis.

3 months, and 4 Drs visits later, the colonoscopy request still hadn’t been placed by the GP. Brett was sent to a specialist to get a more precise diagnosis. After a brief consultation and cursory examination he was told it was nothing sinister, definitely not cancer, easily treatable and nothing to worry about. There was no rush for the colonoscopy but one would be requested to confirm the diagnosis. 5 weeks later Brett was rushed into hospital by ambulance with a full bowel blockage. Scans revealed the tumour and the urgent need for surgery. A post-op biopsy revealed this was an aggressive and very dangerous form of cancer (adenocarcinoma with the BRAF mutation).

After the Stage 3 bowel cancer prognosis, Bretts life and that of his family - his wife and two beautiful daughters (aged 3 and only 3 months) was turned upside down, and was an incredible shock to all of his friends. Of course, he got onto treatment quickly, starting what was supposed to be 12 rounds of intense chemotherapy treatments as soon as his post-operative body would allow.

Unfortunately, after enduring 4 months of chemotherapy, he started getting incredible nerve pain in his shoulder and down his right arm, and visual distortion in his right eye. His chemo was stopped immediately. Another month went by before he could get a proper scan on his shoulder and neck which, terribly, revealed a second, and much larger tumour on his C6 vertebrae. This was obviously terrible news and meant that it was now clear Brett had stage 4 cancer. The oncology team began regular checks for further growths.

Surgery at this stage was unfortunately incredibly dangerous, as the tumour was too involved (impossible) to remove. Because of confusion within the hospital system, Brett lost a valuable week of treatment before he was able to undergo a week of high dose, intense radiation treatment to try and stop the tumour (which was pressing on his spinal chord) in its tracks.

He was in hospital, away from his family, for the 4th time in 6 months. Despite all of this though, and to his credit, he managed mostly to remain in good, hopeful spirits, which anyone who's been through this trauma will know, is never easy.

The ordeal continues however, as it was then discovered that the tumour was not only encroaching on the spinal cord, which was starting to cause paralysis in both arms, but the vertebrae itself was beginning to collapse. Brett was put into a neck brace straight away, however the tumour pressed relentlessly, putting so much pressure on his verterbrae that it collapsed completely. To put in laymans terms, he now officially had stage 4 cancer, AND a broken neck. In May he went through an urgent surgery to correct the collapse, strengthen his neck and to preserve his life. He was initially put in traction, with a halo attached to his skull and 15 pounds of weight hung off it to realign his neck, for 4 days. Then the surgical team placed 3 titanium rods in this neck to hold everything in place.

Since then, the pain management regime he has been on is dizzying, plus he has to wear a SOMI brace to support his head as the tumour prevents any surgery being carried out on the front of his neck. He has been told this uncomfortable contraption will probably be with him for the rest of his life. He has to wear it 24 hours a day. To add insult to injury, the surgery showed that the radiation had not shrunk the tumour at all. And now his cancer has spread further - his T2 vertebrae, his liver and adrenal glands are now involved.

To sum up this story, Brett is currently stage 4 with a growing number of metastasised (growth) areas. The cancer is spreading and it’s spreading fast. So we need to act fast! His best , and really his ONLY option at this stage is an UNFUNDED form of chemotherapy that specifically targets the BRAF mutation that he has. The drugs are horrifically expensive. More than any average man can afford.

Once again we ask, PLEASE, rally to Bretts support if you can. Just a dollar or two would be much appreciated. A message of encouragement or support would be amazing. The reality is, right now he needs all the help he can get, and although he's had great support from a multitude of amazing friends and family already, he still needs help. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity and kind thoughts.