A doting fiancé, brother and uncle has been given the devastating news that NHS treatments for his Leukaemia are no longer working after a year-long battle with the disease. A treatment in the USA is the only avenue left for Patrick James (PJ) Smith, giving his family one last shred of hope in his fight with the rare Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
But the family has been told to act fast, with PJ’s current prognosis unknown. A fundraising page has been created which hopes to fund a trip to Texas to receive treatment involving menin inhibitors, which block the interaction between the menin protein and mutant proteins that cause Leukaemia. The treatment effectively “switches off” leukemogenic genes which causes acute Leukaemia.
The 27-year-old, from west Hull, was recently given the devastating news that his cancer was no longer treatable via NHS methods, after going through a year of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, going into remission twice but later relapsing. His younger sister Melissa said the last year has been “traumatic” and the family feel “stuck”. They have set a target of £300,000, with an initial consultation at the Texas clinic to cost £30,000.
She said: “We’ve got a matter of weeks to raise this. It’s a massive amount of money. It’s so heart breaking. We don’t know where to turn. We are so stuck, shocked and heartbroken. He did so well after the stem cell transplant, but he has relapsed again. They called him on Tuesday and said there’s nothing more they can do for him.”
PJ and his partner Maisie have been together for eight years and got engaged on Valentine’s Day this year. Football-mad PJ, who recently bought his first home with Maisie, is a doting uncle to his sister’s children. In a cruel twist of fate, PJ’s father lost his own battle with cancer at a similar age, when PJ was just six weeks old.
In September last year, PJ had just started a new job in asbestos removal, but was coming home from work with bruises and feeling light headed. His sister says his 25-year-old fiancée Maisie “saved his life” by making him see his GP.
Melissa, who is sister to PJ and older brother Christopher, said: “He went to the GP on the Friday and got diagnosed on the Sunday. They went into Castle Hill where they sat him and his partner down and told him he had ALL. Maisie saved his life. It’s a lot for them to go through. She’s kept as strong as she can for him, to feel like he’s got that positivity around him.
“I’m younger but I’ve always been the one that’s babied my brothers. He loves football, loves Liverpool, and has got tickets booked for next year so we hope we can get him there. He’s really quiet but everyone gets along with him, a real easy person to talk to, your go-to person.
“He was doing asbestos removal and he was really happy with his new job. Maisie started to notice he was moody, bruises everywhere, his hair was falling out. The ALL is quite aggressive. It can do a lot in a small time frame. They can’t predict what will happen tomorrow. We’ve got these weeks to get that money and get him to America.”
Writing on the fundraising page to thank people for their initial donations, Maisie said: “Since getting diagnosed in September last year we have had nothing but setbacks. Please if anybody could share this around the world or even donate £1 we would really appreciate it. I am not ready to let him go, we have our full life ahead of us.”
Friends who set up the page, Laura and Casey, explained why the huge £300,000 target is necessary. “When we put this together we wanted at least to get him seen by a consultant in the US. However, Maisie updated us and told us that he could have the initial consultation but he would need to have the proof of funds to be able to be considered for treatment which is why we have had to update the amount to such a high figure.” They said their “hearts sank” when they saw the price tag but “his life is definitely worth more”.
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