Connell McNelis Fundraiser

Connell's Story…

Connell was diagnosed with stage four terminal kidney cancer in March 2013. He had his kidney removed as well as a metastasized lump on his head. At the time, he was given a prognosis of as little as 12 months to live.

Connell was only 32 years old when originally diagnosed, newly married, and his daughter Carmella was just 4 months old.

He had too much to live for and had a strong will and determination to overcome this to be here for both his wife Nina and daughter Carmella.

Immediately, he started researching and implementing how to be the healthiest version of himself to manage the diagnosis, and completely overhauled his diet and lifestyle.

He’d been doing really well until he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in September 2016, with four more brain tumours appearing over a short period of time. He had a form of brain surgery (stereotactic radio surgery) four times, and following this, the tumours started to shrink, before disappearing completely.

Connell continued to research and follow his learned health protocols, and was in good health, but unfortunately in 2020, routine scans picked up a tumour on his adrenal gland, and at least six more on his pancreas.

Over the years, these tumours have progressed and continued to grow, with the adrenal tumour above his one remaining kidney now currently 10cm, and the largest tumour on the pancreas is over 5cm.

Due to the physical sizes and locations of the tumours, they now pose significant complications by continuing to grow. Connell has now started a difficult combination treatment of chemo and immunotherapy, to try to reduce the sizes.

If they can shrink by at least half, he can then be considered for stereotactic ablative therapy privately, in the hope they can disappear, like the successful treatment he had on his brain.

Despite the setbacks, Connell remains positive and working to achieve his goal. All the alternative treatments over the years have been self-funded, which has put financial pressures on his family. These have been crucial on his health journey and without these, he may not still be here today with all the odds against him.

He would like to undergo additional alternative treatments to complement the chemo/immunotherapy to enable him the best fighting chance. Private laboratory tests will create a genetic profile of cellular activity and assess the capability of his nervous system. This is a personalised approach to try and identify the root cause of the progression before trying to address the imbalances found. If his health permits and the resources are available, Connell would love to attend a centre he has found to work with cancer specialists to help him detoxify and rebuild from cellular level. He feels this would be his best option for the outcome we all hope for him.

Connell hopes his experiences will help others going through similar circumstances and to raise awareness for people to not take their health for granted.

His final goal is to overcome this to have more quality time with Nina and Carmella as they both need him. He can't face the thought of Nina losing her husband and Carmella growing up without a father.

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Connell’s friends and family are embarking on a fundraising drive, to give him the best possible treatment. Connell’s story is inspiring, and we are in awe of the bravery he has shown over the last decade.

In addition, Connell has helped countless people with their own health problems during this period, offering guidance and support in terms of advice and fundraising. He has been selfless and caring for all of them and hopes to continue doing so.

Connell inspires everyone around him, and we want to do everything we can to help him, Nina, and Carmella.

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As part of the ongoing fundraising initiative and to enhance the campaign visibility, a few of Connell’s friends and family will be travelling to Derby on the 19th of November to take part in the Available Car Derby 10mile race www.derby10.co.uk There will be a stall on race day highlighting the benefits of the healthier lifestyle Connell’s been living since his initial diagnosis.

Any donation, no matter how big or small, would be truly appreciated.

Stephen, James and Paul.