Ready for his biggest fight
Exclusive Kiwi dad set to fly to the US for cancer treatment as donations pour in
In five days a terminally ill New Zealand father will travel to the United States for the most important appointment of his life. Kurt Brunton, 41, is flying overseas for groundbreaking immunotherapy treatment that will cost up to $1.5 million.
A Givealittle page was created on Saturday in support of the family and by last night had already raised $120,000.
Though the treatment is not yet available in New Zealand, it is understood an announcement on clinical trials here is expected shortly. Experts believe the treatment could save at least 70 Kiwi lives each year.
Brunton, a Remuera software accountant, has been battling an aggressive form of blood cancer since January. Two weeks ago his condition escalated dramatically, spreading to five tumours around his body.
His doctor had begun prepping him for palliative care because no further treatment was available in New Zealand.
But the immunotherapy treatment is available in Boston — at a price.
In a desperate race against time, Brunton needs to raise up to $1.5m by the end of the month when payment for the Boston treatment is required upfront.
The family say they are willing to do whatever it takes to get there.
“We will put our house on the market, sell our cars, beg if we have to. This is our last hope,” Brunton’s wife, Janelle Brunton-Rennie, told the Herald in tears.
Brunton-Rennie, a 35-year-old public relations agency owner, said it was difficult to say just how much everything would cost.
“Worst-case scenario we are looking at $1.5m, best case $650,000 plus flights and accommodation.”
On Wednesday, Kurt Brunton will have his first consultation at Massachusetts General Hospital. Depending on the outcome, he will qualify for either the CAR-T clinical trial or the Federal Drug Agency-approved CART treatment called Yescarte.
The trial costs between $500,000 and $1m and Yescarte starts at $1.2m.
The immune cells — known as the T cells — are taken out and are genetically engineered into “killer cells” before being inserted back into the blood. Brunton will spend about six weeks in hospital.
Aucklander David Downs, 47, has been helping Brunton in his fight for survival. This year Downs was the first international patient to receive the treatment.
“I was diagnosed with a similar type of lymphoma cancer to Kurt in January 2017. After multiple treatments — including 12 rounds of chemo — failed, I was given less than a year to live.
“The doctors said they had nothing more to offer me as I’d exhausted all my options,” Downs said.
His specialist told him about an immunotherapy being trialled in the US but said access was very difficult and it was early days.
“I didn’t really want to put up with that so I managed to get myself on a clinical trial in Boston.”
Downs went through the same fight as Brunton to raise the necessary funds. He put his house on the
market, started a Givealittle page and borrowed from whoever he could.
“The cost is just astronomical. I was quoted $1 million and then travel costs on top of that.
“I actually feel very guilty that I did manage to get the funds and my life was saved when so many others aren’t so lucky.”
Royal Australasian College of Physicians New Zealand chair Jeff Brown said such cases were difficult because terminally ill patients were so desperate to find a cure.
“You would do that and I would do that but is that at any cost?
“There is always a breakthrough treatment somewhere that costs a huge amount with a promise which may or may not be fulfilled.
“The difficult thing we are faced with is how much can we, as a country, afford to spend on treatments that haven’t been proven yet.”
But health researchers believe bringing the treatment to New Zealand could save around 70 lives each year, which could double as more research was being done to treat other types of cancers.
The Malaghan Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) is working to get Kiwis better access to this treatment and will be making an announcement about clinical trials this month. Downs has been working with MIMR to help get these trials off the ground.
“Spending a million dollars on this treatment is just ridiculous and if we could get this treatment here in New Zealand so many more lives could be saved,” he said.
Dr Chris Jackson, medical director of the NZ Cancer Society, said: “While offering hope, these experimental therapies are often very expensive with uncertain outcomes, and take people away from support networks at home often towards the end of their life.”
The society strongly supported investment in national clinical trials.