Dad wishes to be around for his son Kobie
Katikati man Roy Nugter just wants to be around for his eight-year-old son Kobie and wife Debbie. However, for that to happen, he needs the drug Keytruda, a drug that could potentially cure him. Unfortunately, it is not funded under Pharmac’s rules.
The 59-year-old was diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the lungs three years ago. The doctors believe this cancer originated as skin cancer. His prognosis was six to 12 months without treatment or one to three years with treatment.
He started chemotherapy in February 2019 and is still receiving chemotherapy which at this stage is keeping it stable. He’s still alive and the chemo has worked well, however, long term it is not going to keep working. Roy says, “my oncologist, Dr Richard North, said that there is a 33% chance Keytruda could cure me, 33% chance it will give me a lot longer to live and a 33% chance it will not work.”
Keytruda is funded for certain skin cancers and melanoma. Roy wrote to the head of the DHB, Minister of Health and Prime Minister in the hope they would fund Keytruda for him, but unfortunately, the answer was “no”. Roy’s only option is to raise the money himself, which costs $120,000 for 10 treatments.
Roy just wants to be around for Kobie to do all stuff dads do. He feels that it’s just not fair that Kobie may have to grow up without his dad because he can’t get Keytruda. “I want to get fixed and get back to work and support my family again.”
Roy and his family don’t like asking for money, but like many others in our country being denied potentially life-saving medication, it is his only hope. At some point the chemo will no longer be effective, and/or cause Roy to be so unwell he can no longer receive it. When that happens, there are no other options for him, other than Keytruda. So he has started a Givealittle page called ‘For my son Kobie’.
So far he has raised just over $30,000. Thanks to some amazing friends, he has some other fundraising initiatives in the pipeline as well. He is grateful for every cent that he has received so far and hopes to reach his goal in the near future. To make a donation, visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/for-my-son-kobie