Please, help me fight against glioblastoma brain cancer!

Upadate, 28.01.2022: Urgent: The fundraiser money has run out! A dramatic appeal for help!

Dear Donors!

Thank you very much for your help so far. Thanks to all your kind donations, I was able to get four dendritic vaccinations and receive all other treatment offered by the clinic in Germany. 

Unfortunately, immunotherapy is very expensive and the Siepomaga foundation has informed me that all the money that was raised has been fully used for the treatment I received so far!

But I am not giving up! I would like to live and be here with you so much! Therefore, I have to continue the treatment!

Please, I would like to kindly ask you for any further help that you could possibly give: direct donations, re-sharing my crowdfunding campaign wherever possible, and lastly, for your prayers…

I have high hopes that immunotherapy is working! I started the treatment at the beginning of October. After a difficult September and October, when I was clearly out of shape and had severe speech difficulties, I regained energy in November and December. I started talking again and my motor functions were back to normal. It gave me a lot of hope and confidence that everything was getting better. I was glad that it looked as if the disease had stopped spreading. I spent a joyful Christmas with my family. Unfortunately, at the end of December I received the result of the MRI scan.

The tumor got bigger. Probably not as much as it would if I hadn't had immunotherapy. I was getting the vaccines every four weeks throughout October-December and had my last vaccine in January, six weeks after the previous one due to the Christmas and New Year’s break. Perhaps, the 6-week break was too long as the speech difficulties returned in January. I would love to talk to you when you call me! But I don't answer because I am not able to speak again... I have to continue the therapy to stop and slow down the development of the cancer. I also started taking new medication and supplements as part of the therapy. I have next vaccines planned for the coming months but I need your help! Immunotherapy is my only hope.

I am happy with every day that I can spend with my loved ones. I had a joyful time during Christmas, Grandfather's Day and very recently celebrating Maya’s 5th birthday! It gives me a lot of joy and emotions seeing her growing and smiling at me!

Please, I am asking you for your kind support. Please help me continue my treatment and live as long as possible!

Bogdan

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Last year, my life drastically changed. I was diagnosed with an aggressive, fast-growing, malignant brain cancer – glioblastoma grade IV. 

The one last chance for me to stop the tumour from growing is to undergo an immunotherapy treatment in a private clinic in Cologne, Germany. The cost of a year-worth treatment is 700,000zl (~£140,000) but unfortunately, I don’t have sufficient funds. That’s why I need your help! I believe that together, with your kind help and generosity, we can beat it!

When I heard the diagnosis last year, I just couldn’t believe it! I had a brain tumour of 6 cm x 4 cm x 3 cm (2.4 in x 1.6 in x 1.2 in) growing rapidly in my head that had to be operated immediately.

I had my first brain surgery in April 2020 and then went through a radical and exhausting 6-week radiation therapy. After a year of clean scans I was happy I managed to beat the cancer but unfortunately, the tumour came back and I was operated again in July 2021. 

I’ve currently exhausted all the publicly funded treatments in Poland. My cancer is resistant to chemotherapy and another radiation therapy would be brain damaging. But I’m not giving up! I love life, my family and friends and I am strong and determined to keep fighting against cancer.  

Immunotherapy is based on a personalised vaccine that activates the body’s immune system to take up the fight against the tumour. The therapy consists of different treatment modalities, such as virotherapy, hyperthermia, vaccination, and therapy with checkpoint inhibitors. With this multi-modal form of therapy, all types of solid tumours can be treated, including brain tumours.

I’ve always been an active person and showed a great passion for life and everything I was doing. The news about my illness caught me completely off guard. I used to work as an IT specialist and computer network administrator. After work, I always tried to find time to pursue my interests. 

I am a chess instructor and used to run a school club preparing students for school competitions and as a chess enthusiast myself I used to take part in chess tournaments and solving competitions. 

In addition, I’m a nature photographer and a member of a Lower Silesian Association of Polish Nature Photographers taking wildlife and landscape photos in the beautiful nature reserves. 

My life wouldn’t be complete without people - my family, friends and my little 4.5-year old granddaughter Maya. It’s them who give me motivation to keep going and I’ve always been there for them whenever they needed it. 

I want to live so much! I have so many plans and I would like to experience beautiful and joyful moments with my family and friends, and especially with my granddaughter Maya. I have someone to live for and I want to be with them. I want to watch my granddaughter grow, I want to teach her how to play chess and take photos, and I want to pass my passions on to her. 

Please, I kindly ask everyone, who can, to help. Any donation is much appreciated and means the whole world to me and my family! 

Every little helps!

Bogdan Stawarz