Darron's Stand Against Cancer

Hi, my name is Iz and I am helping with fundraising for Darron. Darron lives in South Africa. He is my godson and a very intelligent, handsome, driven and determined young man - 24 years of age - and does not give up. He wants to fight and give himself every chance of a long and fruitful life. He is self-funding his studies and needed to complete one more exam to be a qualified accountant – but then…..

In May 2022, Darron discovered a small bump on the left side of his neck. In a very short span of time, this grew into a big lump (8cm x 7cm). After initially seeing his GP, he was sent for a biopsy. This came back showing the lump contained spindle cells, which could indicate cancer. He was then sent for more tests and biopsies and eventually, after all of them were inconclusive as to what the lump was, including a surgical biopsy, it was decided that a CT scan was needed. This was done beginning of December 2022, 7 months after the small bump was discovered.

Whilst away on his x-mass holiday, Darron was contacted and instructed to see the surgeon as soon as he got back from holiday. On 28 December 2022 Darron saw the surgeon where he was informed that he would need emergency surgery to remove the tumor – synovial sarcoma, a very aggressive rare soft tissue cancer. The surgery was scheduled for 30 December 2022.

The surgery lasted 8 hours, they managed to remove the bulk of the tumor but due to its location, Darron’s vocal cords and some surrounding nerves were damaged. He can now only speak with a whisper and has a bit of a droopy face.

A follow up CT scan was done during January 2023, but unfortunately, the results indicated that not all the margins were removed and one of the lymph nodes in the vicinity now showed signs of cancer. The next course of action was radiotherapy to try and stop the spread of cancer. At the beginning of March 2023, whilst waiting for the radiotherapy to commence, Darron noticed a new lump forming in the same area as where the previous one was removed. The oncologist informed him that this tumor (10cm x 9cm) was too large to be removed in the area it was growing and radiotherapy was started that same day, 30th March 2023.

Darron received radiotherapy every day for 35 days and the last dose was on 19 May 2023. Good news was received shortly after as he was informed that the tumor was shrinking. This did not last long. A new lump was noticed forming between his collar bones and another on his collar bone. This coincided with him starting to cough a lot and having a sore chest. He went to see his GP who started treating Darron for pleurisy. The GP also mentioned that Darron should go back to the oncologist regarding the new lumps that appeared.

A new CT scan was done on 19 June 2023 and the results were issued on 23 June 2023. Darron was informed that the cancer had metastasized to his lungs and pleural space around his lungs. They were to initiate chemotherapy as a priority. Surgery is not an option, there are just too many tumors in both lungs. Radiotherapy is also not an option as it has a negative impact on lung tissue.

Unfortunately, Darron developed pneumonia on 27 June 2023 and was hospitalized. After seeing his new oncologist on 3 July 2023 for his lung cancer, he was cleared of pneumonia, discharged from hospital and given the green light to start his chemotherapy on 4 July 2023.

Darron is being supported by his loving mum, family and friends. We need to raise funds as Darron cannot work, needs oxygen, medication and care. He should not need to worry about finances as he needs to focus on getting better. He does not have medical insurance and still needs to meet his monthly financial obligations. Living in the UK myself, I know we are privileged to have a lot of help at our disposal when we may find ourselves in these types of situations, which he does not have, so please, help us to help him get better!