An 18-year-old from Newark is facing a desperate battle against cancer after being informed that there are no further available treatments on the NHS to combat his condition. Dan Evans and his family received the devastating news on Thursday, December 21 at Nottingham City Hospital, where they were advised to take Dan home and cherish their time together.
Dan, who hails from Newark, was diagnosed with Primary Mediastinal B Cell Lymphoma (PMBCL) at Stage 4 when he was only 17 years old. Since his diagnosis in December 2022, he has undergone an array of treatments, including various forms of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and CAR-T Therapy, which is a type of immunotherapy.
Despite their efforts, none of these treatments has been successful. There was a glimmer of hope when Dan participated in a clinical trial involving two medications, Brentuximab Vedotin and Nivolumab, which have shown promise in treating individuals with a similar diagnosis as Dan’s. However, these drugs are only accessible through the NHS for patients battling certain types of cancer, excluding teenagers with Dan’s condition.
To continue Dan’s treatment, his family has launched a fundraising campaign to purchase the medications directly from the pharmaceutical companies. Their efforts have already garnered over £35,200 in donations. Reflecting on the incredible support, Dan expressed his surprise, saying, It’s quite surreal, you always hear about other people and their fundraisers and people donating large amounts of money, and you want to help people like that, but when it’s yourself, it’s surreal. It just shows how generous people are.
The family’s goal is to raise £100,000, as each cycle of medication costs £10,000, and Dan will require approximately eight or nine cycles administered every three weeks.
Dan’s father, Mark Evans, who resides in Sutton on Trent, expressed his gratitude for the overwhelming response to their fundraiser, particularly considering the timing. He said, I can’t find the words to say how grateful we are that they have supported our cause, it’s heartwarming, it really is. I think we were just amazed because it’s Christmas already, so everyone has already done all their own spending on their families, so to even consider donating to our fundraiser is huge.
However, the family remains frustrated that they have been compelled to raise funds independently instead of receiving support from the NHS, as their research indicates that there may be a means for the institution to fund the treatment that they were initially unaware of. Mark explained, It’s the uncertainty. At the minute we are still in a very grey area as we are raising the funds to do this treatment privately because we were led to believe that it wasn’t available on the NHS, so it’s going to be done privately within the UK.
Although the family believes they have secured a consultant who can administer the treatment, they recently discovered that there may be a possibility to request the treatment from the NHS. Mark shared, We still don’t know which way this is going to go, whether it will be the NHS or private… The worst part of that is we were led to believe that we couldn’t even ask for these drugs on the NHS, our consultant said no, then we did a bit of research ourselves and realized we could. He (Dan) feels like he has been let down as he had what he thought was a good rapport with his consultant.
As they explore all options, Dan has been conducting his own research on the medications and treatment required. The determined 18-year-old has plans to pursue a degree in Geography at The University of Lincoln starting in September and possesses a deep passion for football.
Mark shared, Dan has always been into football and was part of the under-18s football team. He is a massive Arsenal fan, and this year me and Dan managed to go and watch a football match through a charity and met all of the players. Dan echoed this sentiment, saying, I have been into football for about 10 years now. I got to go and meet the players which was brilliant, and I always used to play football for Newark Town, and that’s my passion really.
Dr. Emily Chernucha, a Consultant Hematologist with expertise in Lymphoma at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, acknowledged that Nivolumab and Brentuximab are not typically available for treating Mediastinal B Cell Lymphoma. However, she clarified that the trust is looking into these treatment options and is in ongoing discussions with Dan and his family.
If you wish to contribute to Dan’s fundraiser or learn more about his situation, you can do so by accessing the provided link.
