Save Luka's life!

Meet Luka – a playwright by profession, a poet by passion, who at the age of thirty-two has already worked as a director, drama and movie critic, screenwriter and interpreter. Although he was born in Croatia and is of Serb descent, his love for a student from Cracow brought him to Poland, which quickly became his new, beloved home. Natalia and Luka got married in 2018. They spoke in English, argued in Russian, and finally, to out-talk his temperamental wife,  Luka learned Polish.  They are a sweet and corky couple  - a match made in heaven.

Two years before they met, Luka received an alarming diagnosis – astrocytoma, stage II. At the time, it was a small, benign and easily operable tumor that was excised, it seemed, entirely in 2015. Luka was still unable to speak or write for several weeks after surgery. But his steadfast will and determination led him to invent his own language, which helped him eventually regain his ability to speak and start creating again.

Unfortunately, in 2018, Luka had to face a relapse. Fortunately, this battle was also successful. Luka got married, got his dream job as a screenwriter in a historical series, his plays found its way to the stage of the theater, and he took up a prestigious postgraduate program for gifted artists. Life was good again.

We would really wish to tell you that his struggle ended there... but in 2021 the tumor returned. And this time in a malignant form. Although it was operated on and chemotherapy started, Luka again lost the ability to communicate. Despite his uncertain future, he had no intention of giving up or feeling sorry for himself. He combined his rounds of chemotherapy with intensive speech and language therapy. Until recently the award-winning writer, who spoke six languages, struggled to write his own name.

Before the last series of chemotherapy, the results of the MRI were devastating - the tumor has grown back and can no longer be operated on. Despite these dramatic news, Luka doesn’t give up. Every day he practices his speech and makes fantastic progress. He already speaks fluent Serbian and is slowly beginning to communicates in English and Polish. His courage, unfailing sense of humor and inexhaustible will to live inspire us to keep fighting. Us - people who love him for what a remarkable person he is. His parents, sister, wife, his new Polish family and a whole lot of friends, whose lives he has touched in such a wonderful way.

Therefore, we are not going to give up. A light of hope has appeared on our path - an innovative drug that has already passed clinical trials and is being administered to patients in Japan. After many attempts Luka was able to qualify for treatment but the cost of the therapy is beyond our resources. We need as much as 270,000 euros.

Luka never cared about money. He wanted to change the world with his art and was always ready to provide support and help to anyone who needed it. Always with an opened heart and respect for all that lives. When he found a sick dog as a student, he took it in without hesitation, even though he had to share his dinner with it  and treat the rash he caught from his new friend. Luka carries so much goodness, he has so many unspoken words, incredible creations, thoughts, dreams and ideas. He has so much to offer to the world. Let's not let him disappear from it so early, when there is a chance we can keep him here.

Help us save Luka. Save all of us who cannot imagine life without him. When disease progression and dwindling time are so much against us, only human kindness can save him now - we will be extremely grateful for any amount. Let's give him the chance to one day write a play about winning the fight against cancer. Let's write a happy ending to his story.