Help Brandon Beat Leukemia
Donation protected
Imagine you are 24, diagnosed with one of the most aggressive blood cancers, have already spent your savings (what little you have at 24), and had to quit your job 6 months ago due to your illness. You've moved 3 times in the last 4 months to get medical care and you were just told that there is no additional medical care left for you in Canada. You have to leave your home and your family to get care in another country at your own expense in order to have any hope at a viable treatment. That is the story of my courageous husband, Brandon. This is why we desperately need your help.
My name is Michelle, 5 years ago I was lucky enough to meet a wonderful man named Brandon. We met online through a video game called World of Warcraft and were instant friends.Years later, we finally met in person when I took a trip to Victoria, British Columbia on a whim. We "dated" over skype and phone calls for months while Brandon was living in Victoria, BC and I was living in Austin, Texas. Finally, I decided to make the move to Canada, to take a chance on a wonderful man who I was falling for more and more every day. In July 2014, I moved to Victoria and Brandon and I have been inseparable ever since.
Our lives changes forever on August 30th when Brandon went in for a routine blood test. He called me, in tears, and told me that he had been diagnosed with leukemia. The next 48 hours were a whirl-wind as we traveled from Victoria to Vancouver so that Brandon could receive treatment at Vancouver General Hospital.
Brandon was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The term 'acute' denotes the rapid progression of the disease. It's called myeloid leukemia because it affects a group of white blood cells called the myeloid cells, which normally develop into the various types of mature blood cells, such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. AML leads to the rapid production of dysfunctional white blood cells that crowd out other healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.
When Brandon was diagnosed with AML, his white blood cell count was 45x10^9 cells per liter of blood (the normal range of white blood cells is between 4x10^9 and 11x10^9 cells per liter of blood). Within the few days before he started chemotherapy, his white blood cell count had risen to nearly 60x10^9 cells per liter of blood. His initial bone marrow biopsy verified his AML diagnosis and showed that 90%+ of the stem cells in his bone marrow were cancerous.
Brandon's first round of chemotherapy, called 7+3 (7 days of a drug called cytarabine and 3 days of a drug called daunorubicin), only reduced the cancer in his bone marrow to 40%. This regimen of chemotherapy puts 75% of leukemia patients into remission, but we were not so lucky. We had high hopes for the second protocol for treatment.
Brandon kept his spirits up and pushed directly into a second round of chemotherapy, called 'salvage chemotherapy.' This more intensive chemotherapy is supposed to wipe out any remaining cancer cells at a high cost to the patient. Brandon became very ill, as his immune system as a whole was wiped out from the chemotherapy. His white blood cell counts dropped to zero, leaving him highly vulnerable to infection, and he received red blood cell and platelet transfusions every few days. Brandon was in incredible pain, due to the weakening of his body from the treatment.
We anxiously waited and watched for a month to learn if the salvage chemotherapy had worked. The doctors kept telling us that his blood counts would eventually recover, but as the weeks went by things were not starting to look up. His third bone marrow biopsy showed that his cancer had fought back up to 56%. We were devastated. Because the cancer count in his bone marrow was so high, it was preventing the growth of healthy blood cells in his body. Brandon was left with no immune system, no ability to fight infection, and limited ability to clot blood and transport oxygen throughout his body. Brandon and I got this news the day before our wedding on October 18, 2015.
After nearly 2 months in the hospital, Brandon was released so that we could enjoy our wedding at his mother's home. Brandon struggled through the day feeling sick, tired, and nauseous, but kept a smile on his face the whole time. We put all sadness aside to enjoy a weekend in celebration of our love surrounded by our family and friends. It was truly the most beautiful day of our lives. Emotions ran high as we promised to love, cherish, and support one another forever. Never before had those words meant so much.
After the failure of his first and second round of chemotherapy, his doctors did not have hope in other chemotherapy treatments. Brandon and I were told that chemotherapy would not likely work, since his leukemia was showing resistance to the strongest chemotherapy medications.
Under the umbrella of AML, certain genetic mutations place you in various risk groups for relapse. We learned that Brandon's specific cancerous mutation, called FTL3-ITD, places him in the highest risk group. Without a stem cell transplant, Brandon's chance for a cancer free life would be extremely small. Unfortunately, a patient needs to be in remission (cancer less than 5%) to receive a stem cell transplant. Getting him into remission, was proving to be the hardest part. We had nothing left but to try enrolling Brandon in a clinical drug trial.
Brandon's doctors informed us of a new drug that was conducting a phase III clinical trial at Vancouver General Hospital. The drug was an FTL3 inhibitor, that was designed to damage only the cancerous cells in his body. We were thrilled to learn about this new treatment that could put him into remission. On October 27, 2015, Brandon beat the odds and was randomized to be one of the 2/3 of patients to receive the medication. We were over the moon!
The mediation looked very promising, with Brandon's subsequent monthly biopsies showing bone marrow cancer counts of 31% and 9%, respectively. We thought that surely his next biopsy would give us the remission we had been waiting for. Brandon's doctor's were so confident, that they started to schedule his stem cell transplant for mid February 2016. We were excited to learn that Brandon had 3 possible donors!
We were confident and excited as Brandon went in for his 7th bone marrow biopsy on January 19, 2016. We were crushed to learn that his bone marrow cancer count had increased from 9% to 20% over the last month. While this was not the news we were hoping for, we were hopeful that the next highest dose of the trial drug would do the trick. On January 20th, his doctors increased his medication dose to the highest possible dose of 60mg. Brandon's stem cell transplant was delayed to mid March in hopes that the medication would work its magic.
Unfortunately, a week and a half later, on January 29, 2016, we learned that the medication was not working. Increasing numbers of cancerous blast cells had begun to show in Brandon's blood, which lead doctors to believe that the leukemia was continuing to flourish in his bone marrow. Furthermore, the highest dose of the medication was starting to show toxic effects on Brandon's liver. With heavy hearts, Brandon's doctors were forced to remove him from the trial drug study.
On January 29, 2016, we had the difficult conversation
with his doctors as they told us there were no available treatment options left in Canada. Vancouver General Hospital is one of the leading leukemia treatment centers in Canada, and they had tried everything they have available to help Brandon. All they could offer, is comfort care to ease the side effects as the cancer takes over and eventually takes Brandon's life.
Brandon and I are just not ready to quit. We are choosing to travel to the best cancer hospital in the United States, MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. Because Brandon is a Canadian citizen, this comes with a heafy price tag. His initial consultation fee is $37,000. I am working diligently to get all his paperwork in order so that he can be at MD Anderson to start treatment within the next few weeks. Since his leukemia is so aggressive, getting him to MD Anderson as quickly as possible is extremely important. Any donations received
will go towards paying for Brandon's treatment at MD Anderson.
Anyone who knows Brandon, knows what a joy and light he is to the world. He is the most compassionate, generous, and contagiously funny guy I know. He has the ability to light up the room and make everyone around him laugh and smile. He also has an incredible positivity and strength that comes from within. Throughout this journey, he has never complained or been angry with his diagnosis. I don't know how many times I've heard him say "Other people have it worse, I'm the lucky one." He has continued to fight leukemia with a smile on his face and love in his heart.
Brandon is also my best friend, my husband, my soulmate, and my life-long love. I can't imagine a world without him in it. I will never give up on a healing miracle, or on the hope that there is a treatment out there that can cure his leukemia. We made our wedding vows on October 18, 2015, and those vows will carry on forever. I will always be there to love, support, cherish, and fight for him; whether it be in his fight against leukemia or anything else that life throws our way. I will never give up on him.
I am beyond thankful for the love and support that we continue to receive from our family and friends. I don't know what we would have done without you all.
Please help support Brandon in his fight to beat leukemia. Any money received will go towards funding his treatment at the award winning MD Anderson cancer hospital in Houston, Texas. The initial consultation fee is $37,000, but that only covers the initial doctor's evaluation and diagnostic tests. I don't know how much his full treatment will cost, but I will do everything I can to make sure that a lack of money will not prevent him from getting the care he needs. There is no price tag on Brandon's life.
Brandon's only hope for treatment and a possible cure is to leave Canada to receive treatment in the United States. Please donate and share help us make that happen.
Even during the fight with one of the most aggressive form of leukemia, AML, Brandon keeps his spirits up by laughter, joking, and dancing. Laughter is the best medicine!
My name is Michelle, 5 years ago I was lucky enough to meet a wonderful man named Brandon. We met online through a video game called World of Warcraft and were instant friends.Years later, we finally met in person when I took a trip to Victoria, British Columbia on a whim. We "dated" over skype and phone calls for months while Brandon was living in Victoria, BC and I was living in Austin, Texas. Finally, I decided to make the move to Canada, to take a chance on a wonderful man who I was falling for more and more every day. In July 2014, I moved to Victoria and Brandon and I have been inseparable ever since.
Our lives changes forever on August 30th when Brandon went in for a routine blood test. He called me, in tears, and told me that he had been diagnosed with leukemia. The next 48 hours were a whirl-wind as we traveled from Victoria to Vancouver so that Brandon could receive treatment at Vancouver General Hospital.
Brandon was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The term 'acute' denotes the rapid progression of the disease. It's called myeloid leukemia because it affects a group of white blood cells called the myeloid cells, which normally develop into the various types of mature blood cells, such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. AML leads to the rapid production of dysfunctional white blood cells that crowd out other healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.
When Brandon was diagnosed with AML, his white blood cell count was 45x10^9 cells per liter of blood (the normal range of white blood cells is between 4x10^9 and 11x10^9 cells per liter of blood). Within the few days before he started chemotherapy, his white blood cell count had risen to nearly 60x10^9 cells per liter of blood. His initial bone marrow biopsy verified his AML diagnosis and showed that 90%+ of the stem cells in his bone marrow were cancerous.
Brandon's first round of chemotherapy, called 7+3 (7 days of a drug called cytarabine and 3 days of a drug called daunorubicin), only reduced the cancer in his bone marrow to 40%. This regimen of chemotherapy puts 75% of leukemia patients into remission, but we were not so lucky. We had high hopes for the second protocol for treatment.
Brandon kept his spirits up and pushed directly into a second round of chemotherapy, called 'salvage chemotherapy.' This more intensive chemotherapy is supposed to wipe out any remaining cancer cells at a high cost to the patient. Brandon became very ill, as his immune system as a whole was wiped out from the chemotherapy. His white blood cell counts dropped to zero, leaving him highly vulnerable to infection, and he received red blood cell and platelet transfusions every few days. Brandon was in incredible pain, due to the weakening of his body from the treatment.
We anxiously waited and watched for a month to learn if the salvage chemotherapy had worked. The doctors kept telling us that his blood counts would eventually recover, but as the weeks went by things were not starting to look up. His third bone marrow biopsy showed that his cancer had fought back up to 56%. We were devastated. Because the cancer count in his bone marrow was so high, it was preventing the growth of healthy blood cells in his body. Brandon was left with no immune system, no ability to fight infection, and limited ability to clot blood and transport oxygen throughout his body. Brandon and I got this news the day before our wedding on October 18, 2015.
After nearly 2 months in the hospital, Brandon was released so that we could enjoy our wedding at his mother's home. Brandon struggled through the day feeling sick, tired, and nauseous, but kept a smile on his face the whole time. We put all sadness aside to enjoy a weekend in celebration of our love surrounded by our family and friends. It was truly the most beautiful day of our lives. Emotions ran high as we promised to love, cherish, and support one another forever. Never before had those words meant so much.
After the failure of his first and second round of chemotherapy, his doctors did not have hope in other chemotherapy treatments. Brandon and I were told that chemotherapy would not likely work, since his leukemia was showing resistance to the strongest chemotherapy medications.
Under the umbrella of AML, certain genetic mutations place you in various risk groups for relapse. We learned that Brandon's specific cancerous mutation, called FTL3-ITD, places him in the highest risk group. Without a stem cell transplant, Brandon's chance for a cancer free life would be extremely small. Unfortunately, a patient needs to be in remission (cancer less than 5%) to receive a stem cell transplant. Getting him into remission, was proving to be the hardest part. We had nothing left but to try enrolling Brandon in a clinical drug trial.
Brandon's doctors informed us of a new drug that was conducting a phase III clinical trial at Vancouver General Hospital. The drug was an FTL3 inhibitor, that was designed to damage only the cancerous cells in his body. We were thrilled to learn about this new treatment that could put him into remission. On October 27, 2015, Brandon beat the odds and was randomized to be one of the 2/3 of patients to receive the medication. We were over the moon!
The mediation looked very promising, with Brandon's subsequent monthly biopsies showing bone marrow cancer counts of 31% and 9%, respectively. We thought that surely his next biopsy would give us the remission we had been waiting for. Brandon's doctor's were so confident, that they started to schedule his stem cell transplant for mid February 2016. We were excited to learn that Brandon had 3 possible donors!
We were confident and excited as Brandon went in for his 7th bone marrow biopsy on January 19, 2016. We were crushed to learn that his bone marrow cancer count had increased from 9% to 20% over the last month. While this was not the news we were hoping for, we were hopeful that the next highest dose of the trial drug would do the trick. On January 20th, his doctors increased his medication dose to the highest possible dose of 60mg. Brandon's stem cell transplant was delayed to mid March in hopes that the medication would work its magic.
Unfortunately, a week and a half later, on January 29, 2016, we learned that the medication was not working. Increasing numbers of cancerous blast cells had begun to show in Brandon's blood, which lead doctors to believe that the leukemia was continuing to flourish in his bone marrow. Furthermore, the highest dose of the medication was starting to show toxic effects on Brandon's liver. With heavy hearts, Brandon's doctors were forced to remove him from the trial drug study.
On January 29, 2016, we had the difficult conversation
with his doctors as they told us there were no available treatment options left in Canada. Vancouver General Hospital is one of the leading leukemia treatment centers in Canada, and they had tried everything they have available to help Brandon. All they could offer, is comfort care to ease the side effects as the cancer takes over and eventually takes Brandon's life.
Brandon and I are just not ready to quit. We are choosing to travel to the best cancer hospital in the United States, MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. Because Brandon is a Canadian citizen, this comes with a heafy price tag. His initial consultation fee is $37,000. I am working diligently to get all his paperwork in order so that he can be at MD Anderson to start treatment within the next few weeks. Since his leukemia is so aggressive, getting him to MD Anderson as quickly as possible is extremely important. Any donations received
will go towards paying for Brandon's treatment at MD Anderson.
Anyone who knows Brandon, knows what a joy and light he is to the world. He is the most compassionate, generous, and contagiously funny guy I know. He has the ability to light up the room and make everyone around him laugh and smile. He also has an incredible positivity and strength that comes from within. Throughout this journey, he has never complained or been angry with his diagnosis. I don't know how many times I've heard him say "Other people have it worse, I'm the lucky one." He has continued to fight leukemia with a smile on his face and love in his heart.
Brandon is also my best friend, my husband, my soulmate, and my life-long love. I can't imagine a world without him in it. I will never give up on a healing miracle, or on the hope that there is a treatment out there that can cure his leukemia. We made our wedding vows on October 18, 2015, and those vows will carry on forever. I will always be there to love, support, cherish, and fight for him; whether it be in his fight against leukemia or anything else that life throws our way. I will never give up on him.
I am beyond thankful for the love and support that we continue to receive from our family and friends. I don't know what we would have done without you all.
Please help support Brandon in his fight to beat leukemia. Any money received will go towards funding his treatment at the award winning MD Anderson cancer hospital in Houston, Texas. The initial consultation fee is $37,000, but that only covers the initial doctor's evaluation and diagnostic tests. I don't know how much his full treatment will cost, but I will do everything I can to make sure that a lack of money will not prevent him from getting the care he needs. There is no price tag on Brandon's life.
Brandon's only hope for treatment and a possible cure is to leave Canada to receive treatment in the United States. Please donate and share help us make that happen.
Even during the fight with one of the most aggressive form of leukemia, AML, Brandon keeps his spirits up by laughter, joking, and dancing. Laughter is the best medicine!
Organizer
Michelle Durieux
Organizer
Austin, TX