More than £32,000 raised to help family of 25-year-old Bucks man diagnosed with rare and aggressive cancer
More than £32,000 has been raised to help the family of a 25-year-old man from Buckinghamshire after he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer.
In April Dylan Delorie, 25, was diagnosed with desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT), which the National Cancer Institute describes as a type of soft tissue sarcoma.
The institute says that this cancer forms in the connective tissue of the body, and it estimates that around 200 cases have been recorded since the cancer was first described.
Dylan’s diagnosis came weeks after walking his mum Charlene down the aisle at her wedding, and after proposing to his fiancée Jasmine.
Dylan’s uncle Bobby Hennessy told the Bucks Herald: “Dylan's diagnosis came after a rapid progression of symptoms over just a matter of weeks.
“Around six weeks beforehand, he had started experiencing back pain. Three weeks later, he noticed a swollen lymph node in his groin and contacted his GP.
“Following an examination, he was asked to return for blood tests, which later showed a raised liver enzyme.
“Around a week before his diagnosis, Dylan developed stomach cramps and was increasingly tired.
“His GP arranged an ultrasound of his stomach, and Dylan also requested that his pelvic area be scanned. The scan revealed a mass and cancer was identified.”
Dylan, who lives in High Wycombe, has been treated at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, with his initial treatment featuring five cycles of VDC/IE chemotherapy.
The cancer caused a build up of fluid in his abdomen, and at times two litres of fluid was drained from him each day.
After the third cycle scans showed a reduction in the activity of the cancer, indicating he was responding well to the treatment.
Following a fifth cycle doctors identified a blood clot, with a subsequent scan showing that the cancer had become active again.
The family say they are hoping to travel to the United States to seek opinions from specialist centres with experience of rare cancer, in a bid to work out where to go next in their battle with the disease.
They have launched a GoFundMe page so that if an overseas treatment or surgical option becomes available, cost is not an obstacle to him pursuing him.
The page was launched just over a week ago and at the time of writing has raised £32,476.
Bobby said the response to the family’s appeal for help was ‘incredible’ saying: “To see people come together, many of whom have never even met Dylan, to support him and get behind us as a family has been genuinely overwhelming.
“We are beyond grateful and will be forever grateful for the kindness people have shown us.
“We've had family members wearing Dylan's branded shirts to Wembley for a concert, flyers being taken to events at the Milton Keynes Bowl, and people putting flyers up across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire to help spread his story.
“I think people can relate to the fact that this could happen to anyone.
“If sharing Dylan's journey can raise awareness of DSRCT, help people recognise the signs, connect another family with someone who has been through it, or simply make someone feel a little less alone, then that will mean something to us too.”