A Cure In Sight

I am running the Rye half marathon on May 19th and want to use the opportunity to raise funds for 'A Cure In Sight' which provides patient support for Ocular Melanoma eye cancer patients and funds on-going eye cancer research. I was inspired to do this by my beautiful friend Alexis "Lexi" Freer who has been bravely fighting this disease with the most inspiring positivity I have ever witnessed, since early 2020. This very rare cancer starts in the eye and often metastasizes to other parts of the body, usually the liver. There are only around 2,500 people diagnosed per year in the USA and currently there is no cure. Because this cancer is so rare it is greatly under researched and under funded.

Lexi's Story:

Lexi's life changed in an instant when she was diagnosed with Ocular Melanoma during a routine eye exam in January 2020 aged 35. When the world was shutting down in a global pandemic, Lexi was undergoing Radiation Plaque Therapy to eradicate the tumor in her eye. She then completely changed her lifestyle with the goal of keeping the cancer at bay. In late 2021 Lexi was told the cancer had metastasized to her liver and since then she has been battling to keep the tumors in her liver from growing in every possible way she can, including immunoembolisations, chemoembolisation and a huge focus on naturopathic treatments. For the past 3 years Lexi has been continually traveling back and forth from Chicago to the Jeffrson Hospital in Philadelphia (a leading hospitals in the world for eye cancer) and during all of this Lexi always has smile on her face, is eternally positive and optimistic and has never shown an ounce of self pity, even as she has lost fellow ocular melanoma friends along the way. She is truly an inspiration to everyone who knows her, most especially her family; husband Duncan, daughter Lilah (11) and son Callum (8).

In August 2023 Lexi got a spot on a clinical trial which initially showed some tumor shrinkage and stability but just before Christmas 2023 scans showed one stubborn tumor was continuing to grow rapidly and as a result she had to leave the clinical trial at the start of 2024. She then tried another clinical trial called Delcath procedure in Tampa, but unfortunately, it did not give her the results she was hoping for. Her liver enzymes elevated and tumors continued to increase in size. She ended up back at Jefferson Hospital in Philly in early May to receive another chemo embolization procedure. She is home now recovering, but is in significant pain and may not be able to tolerate more travel so is seeking help at Northwestern.

In support of Lexi and other Ocular Melanoma patients, I would hugely appreciate any donation, no matter how small to help fund more research into this rare and aggressive cancer.