Flying a 19-year-old to the US for life-saving treatment

19-year-old Casper McCallum from Australia has endured 5 years of intensive treatment since he was diagnosed with a fast growing tumor. Now, there is nothing else Australian doctors can do to remove the tumor. His family and neighbors are trying to raise $120,000 to fly him to the U.S. and get him proton therapy treatment.
Casper McCallum was first diagnosed when he was 14. Since then, he has had four operations, undergone months of chemotherapy and suffered a stroke. The family has run out of options in Australia and with the tumor starting to grow close to Casper’s brain stem, their only hope is to fly him to the U.S. before February for expensive proton therapy which has a 95% chance of working and is not yet available in Australia. His mother says he has no chance of surviving without the treatment.
The Australian government has subsidized patients to travel overseas for similar treatments in the past, but the application process for funding would take too long. The family are thus trying to raise $120,000 themselves. If they reach their goal, Casper would need to go to the clinic in the U.S. and undergo intensive treatment every day for six weeks. A Facebook page and crowdfunding page have also been set up for donations and so far $37,490 has been raised. ‘It’s pretty overwhelming, it’s put a massive smile on my face,’ Casper said.

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Rainbow Christmas Charity Day  
Kent based Rainbow Global Network Services, a leading supplier of some of the world’s premier telecoms, data and technology brands, is holding a Christmas charity day on Friday 12 December in aid of 7-year-old Frankie Rose.
Frankie was diagnosed with brain and spinal tumors in August this year. She endured 10 weeks of gruelling chemotherapy, only to learn that the tumor had tripled in size. The only hope for Frankie was to get proton therapy in the USA.
The cost to get her there and pay for the treatment was £160,000. A fundraising campaign ensued, and much to her family’s relief, the target was reached. Frankie and her family are now in Oklahoma while she undergoes the treatment and additional funds raised will go towards keeping her as comfortable as possible during her recovery.
Rainbow managing director said, “I hope this small gesture will go some way towards helping young Frankie and her family together with Save the Children, and I am sure everybody as we did last year will make the effort to wear a silly jumper or an outfit of some sort.”

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British boy seeking care in the US
The Vollrath family, from England, will be spending the holiday season away from home this year. They had to travel to Oklahoma City after 10-year-old Liam was diagnosed with brain cancer.
It was during a routine eye checkup in October that doctors realized Liam Vollrath had a tumor called medulloblastoma. His parents and doctors decided the best route of treatment was proton therapy, not yet available in the UK. “Sometimes you just have to go with your gut, and it just felt like the right thing to do,” said Liam’s mom. “Now that we’re here and seeing how well he’s doing, we know that we made the right decision.”
Liam has undergone surgery to remove the tumor and is still undergoing proton therapy. He says he is ready to go back home. “I like the hospital, but I don’t like that it takes so long,” he said. “It takes ages!”
Liam is finding comfort with his new therapy dog Indy who he gets to spend time with every Wednesday, which helps him get through the hard weeks. The Vollraths will soon be released to go back home where Liam will receive chemotherapy treatments for several more months.

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