Please help Christian fight brain cancer

My name is Tania and I’m asking for your help to support my brother-in-law Christian, who was diagnosed in September 2023 with a grade 4 malignant brain tumour known as a Glioblastoma (GBM).

Christian is beautiful, generous and fun-loving, always ready with a smile and a laugh. He is adored by his family as Dad, husband, son, uncle and brother and he’s in for a fight. At 46 years old this is a challenging diagnosis for him, his wife Bec and his three children Jasmine, Ben and Violet.

Within 4 days of his diagnosis, he underwent a craniotomy to remove what they could of the tumour. Treatment options in Australia are limited to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which may only offer him 12 – 18 months with this aggressive type of brain cancer.

Even more heartbreaking is that he is the third-generation male in his family to be diagnosed with a GBM. His grandfather died from a GBM in 2000 at 79 years of age, and his Dad passed away from a GBM in 2004 at only 51 years old.

Christian and his family just cannot accept that this will be his fate, and are exploring all global treatment options. There are two groundbreaking treatment options in Germany, and he will relocate to Germany for 6 months in December 2023 to start treatment at two private clinics. This treatment is Christian’s only hope, but the costs involved are significant.

Clinic 1 is in Duderstadt, where they will harvest Christian’s white blood cells to create an immunisation specific to him (immunotherapy). This treatment will need to be given every month. The initial cost is $A 50,370, and then $A 12,692 for every treatment thereafter if it works. If the immunotherapy is successful, it will gradually reduce from monthly to every few months, then every 6 months, and then annually for the rest of his life.

Clinic 2 is in Tuebingen, where he will undergo genetic profiling called CeGaT to create a vaccination specific to his GBM tumour. The cost of this treatment is $A 133,000.

On top of these significant medical costs, in Germany he will also have to pay for MRI scans, chemotherapy medication and blood tests that are not supported by Medicare, as well as flights, accommodation and living expenses for the family of five.

I want to do whatever I can to help this beautiful family fight this horrible and heartbreaking disease, so that another member of their family is not lost to GBM.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who can contribute – no matter how big or how small. Your generosity is quite literally a lifeline for Christian and his family, and we are all eternally grateful for your support. ❤️

Tania Campbell