Doug's fight against Pancreatic Cancer

“Pancreatic Cancer is becoming more common. It has usually spread before it is diagnosed, so the outlook is not good. In addition, there is no good treatment or cure for this type of cancer so 9/10 people survive less than one year after diagnosis, even with standard chemotherapy. New

treatments are in the early stages of clinical trials, one of these involves using a virus to stimulate the immune system to fight the cancer. This is the research clinical trial that Doug Veale will participate in Harvard, Boston and if successful it may represent a significant breakthrough in the treatment of Pancreatic Cancer.”

Prof. Ray McDermott, Consultant Medical Oncologist & Cancer Trials Ireland

Hi, My name is Doug Veale and as some of you may know, 2023 was a very challenging year for our family – my wife Ursula and three children - Sorcha, James and Hannah. In March, while Hannah was undergoing chemotherapy for Lymphoma herself - I was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer, which had already spread to my liver, Stage IV. My beautiful sister Michele ‘Mitch’ also was taken from us far too young and quickly in 2019 by this horrible cancer.

I have received a number of different types of chemotherapy over the last 10 months. But the tumour had increased and spread, so there is an urgent need for more effective therapy.

Currently, there is no effective treatment or cure for Stage IV pancreatic cancer. There are some new experimental therapies undergoing clinical trials, but only available in the USA where a preliminary study showed some hope. A team in Boston have applied for a clinical trial for me. This novel therapy involves injecting a virus into the tumour to stimulate the immune system to react against the tumour to kill the cancer cells. It also appears relatively safe, with few side effects compared to standard chemotherapy. The drug will be provided by Candel Therapeutics, on compassionate

grounds, for which I am very grateful. The medical, hospital and logistical costs, however, are not.

The purpose of this GoFundMe campaign is to raise funds to cover the cost of this trial and travel and to fund Cancer Trials Ireland in the area of Pancreatic Cancer to help other patients avail of these new treatments.

Pancreatic cancer has devastated our family and many other families in Ireland. The outpouring love and support we have received from so many people in the last year has been overwhelming. If you wish to support this cause and help others like me, please donate now and share my story. Thank you so much.