The last battle for life continues! Please help Patrick fight cancer!

Our son does not deserve it… We have just found out, that Patrick experienced a fourth recurrence! He has just started high school! For the first time in years he could go out, make new friends, and be able to learn at school. It was everything he ever dreamed of… 

Today, we are left with the last chance for our son. Since the treatment in Poland has come to an end, the only solution is an extremely expensive therapy abroad, in Barcelona in Spain. Please, help us! 

The Patrick’s case is unusual… He developed the first symptoms in February 2016—stomach ache. He was 9 years old. When the ultrasound showed a large, 14 cm tumor in his stomach, and our world fell apart! It wasn’t crushed by some ordinary mischievous rascal, though—but a real monster, a stage 4 neuroblastoma! 

Although that type of cancer usually attacks smaller children, Patrick fell ill as an older boy. 

The prognosis wasn’t optimistic. He started a 1,5 year-long treatment, which turned out to be successful. The metastases disappeared, and the initial tumor that was situated on the adrenal gland reduced in size and was completely removed by surgery. It seemed like the cancer was gone! Not exactly, though…

We enjoyed Patrick’s recovery for a year. Despite obligatory check-ups, he felt fine. However, another summer vacation brought devastating news—the tumor was back in the same area! The treatment had to be restarted… 

This time, the tumor was inoperable due to its inaccessible location. After undergoing chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, Patrick defeated cancer for the second time! We celebrated another victory! 

We enjoyed it shorter than the previous time. After a year and a half, Patrick developed pain in his abdomen. The doctors discovered a third recurrence… The cancer attacked again, and this time, it spread to Patrick's’ spine…  We consulted more doctors and had no idea what to do. He underwent another chemotherapy and finally chemoimmunotherapy. 

In January, the doctors announced the end of treatment and a success! We thought, that third time is the charm. It must have been a final victory! 

Patrick is now a teenager. The battle with cancer almost took away his entire childhood, and offered nothing but suffering, fear, and pain… I will probably never find out about his thoughts at that time… However, he won, and now he was thinking about his future. He underwent physical therapy, and he was in a good shape. He started high school on September 1. He used to be educated at home and missed so much, e.g., making new friends, etc. Everything was about to change. 

At the end of August we had to make another check-up. We did not expect to hear that the cancer came back for the fourth time! Unfortunately, the test results did not leave any doubt—a small tumor appeared very deep in the tissue, so deep that the doctors in Poland have refused to remove it! Actually, all methods of treatment have failed, including a double autologous stem cell transplant…

We were devastated, but we have contacted the best clinic in Europe (in Barcelona), specialized in neuroblastoma treatment. They agreed to take care of Patrick and perform a surgery!

We know that it is the last chance for Patrick to recover. We must do everything to take it! Unfortunately, we need at least 300,000 Polish zlotys to fly to Barcelona and start the treatment. This is the cost of the surgery and initial examination. 

When it happens, the doctors will offer us a further treatment plan, depending on the type of tumor. The whole therapy is initially planned to last 10 months, and it costs over 2 million Polish zlotys! 

Patrick loves to paint, draw, and sketch. He had a lot of time to develop his passion during his treatment, so now he’s excellent in it! He says that if it wasn’t for the disease, he wouldn’t be so great at it… That is how wonderful my son is! Such an optimistic person, hiding his fears.

We will fight to get rid of them forever, to let Patrick live a life he deserves! A life he dreams of…

We ask you for support from the bottom of our hearts. Please help us save our son and take our last opportunity for the treatment! We will keep on fighting and believing until the end. We must succeed!

Grażyna (mom), dad, and family of Patrick

*The funds to raise are estimated, and based on the cost estimate of the treatment, plane ticket fares and current price of accommodation.