R1m donated for Joburg mom’s cancer treatment
ONE donation of a whopping R200 000 has helped Johannesburg mother of two Kerryn Neilson raise more than R1-million so far to help pay for a new chemotherapy drug she hopes will help her beat blood cancer.
Neilson‚ 32‚ from Midrand‚ has been diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL).
It is described as a fast-growing blood cancer which creates abnormal lymphocytes (white blood cells formed in the bone marrow). It can lead to anaemia and random bleeding.
She has spent the greater part of the last few months in hospital‚ often in isolation‚ unable to see her children‚ aged four and nine‚ according to crowdfunding site BackaBuddy.
At home‚ she is prone to infections. Her children have had to learn to always wear face masks around her and wash their hands before touching her.
Her haematologist suggested a chemotherapy drug‚ Nelarabine. While it has been approved in America and Europe‚ it is not readily available in South Africa.
However‚ she is unable to afford the treatment‚ estimated at around R2.5-million.
“There is no guarantee that this drug will get me into remission‚ but my doctors feel it is worth a shot and complete responses have been achieved in other patients around the world,” Neilson said.
“Right now‚ there is nothing else that can be offered to me to achieve remission and it really is my last hope. If it works‚ I will be able to have a bone marrow transplant from a donor in the United States who has already been matched for me and this is the only thing that is potentially curative.”
With her husband‚ Sheldon‚ they resorted to a public campaign.
The couple’s campaign on BackaBuddy went live on January 16. So far 443 local and international donors have responded‚ raising more than R1-million – enough to order Kerryn’s first round of treatment.
One anonymous donor contributed a single donation of R200 000.
“Initially it felt impossible. It is just such a massive amount. Yet slowly but surely the fund has continued to creep towards the target. We have been humbled by the amount of support we have received,” she said.