Help Dave Tessier Beat Cancer

Dave has been battling Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS), an extremely rare cancer for the past 16 years.

Diagnosed at the age of 18, his cancer was slow growing, showing a few new tumors at each routine scan. Since the progression was slow and it was not causing any life-threatening health issues, with little to no treatment options available the strategy was to wait and watch with regular monitoring.

Over time Dave’s cancer became more aggressive and it became necessary to consider treatment options. Dave has gone through radiation treatments, surgeries, and systemic clinical trials. Dave exhausted all options at Kingston’s cancer centre very quickly and for the past 11 years these appointments and treatments have been done at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PMCC) in Toronto. PMCC has an amazing team specializing in sarcomas, and world-class treatment options.

Dave and his wife Rachel have made countless trips from their home in Kingston to Toronto for treatment or related appointments. This has incurred a lot of extra expenses, which to now they have managed on their own. The past year has been particularly difficult while Dave was taking part in a promising immunotherapy trial which required countless overnight trips to Toronto.

At a routine follow-up appointment this past August Dave was told that he was being removed from the immunotherapy trial because the treatment was not working. His disease was progressing too much, spreading to new sites in his body, and a new course of action needed to be considered.

The current prognosis is not good with metastasis appearing throughout his body. Dave was given the devastating news that if they do not find a treatment that works, he likely only has a few short years left to live.

Dave is a loving husband, an amazing father to their 4-year-old Olivia, and an all-around great guy to so many! The past few weeks have been extremely stressful for Dave and Rachel as they deal with their reality.

Dave accepted another clinical trial at PMCC which he is starting very soon. Dave will be among the first 120 humans to receive this medication worldwide and he will be the first ASPS patient to receive it. There is no data for this treatment yet, and it is unknown whether the drug will be effective. Right now, it seems to be the best treatment option available for him. We are all very hopeful that this treatment will have positive results.

This clinical trial will come with even more trips to Toronto, overnight stays, travel related expenses and Dave will have to take some time off work to accommodate all the appointments and focus on his health.

My hope with this GoFundMe is to help alleviate some of the financial burden for Dave and Rachel during this stressful time.

Your donation of any amount will help support medical related costs for this beautiful family during the difficult journey ahead of them.