It’s been a long and difficult road for West Island resident Kevin Butterfill and his Fiancée Natasha Camacho-Gomes.
“Kevin had testicular cancer in Oct. 2015, he did chemo, he then had the tumor removed and he was in remission,” Gomes said.
It’s what happened in July 2016 that is causing a lot of grief for Butterfill’s loved ones.
He proposed to Camacho-Gomes, his girlfriend since 2009, but a week later more health complications arose.
“He was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) which is a bone marrow disorder.”
And to make matters even worse, Butterfill found out the MDS transformed into acute myeloid leukemia in January.
The past two years have been a roller coaster ride for Kevin’s mother, Heather Butterfill.
“We’re staying strong,” Heather Butterfill said. “I’m very faithful that he’s going to come out of this stronger than ever.”
On Saturday, family and friends gathered at a Provigo grocery store in Kirkland, encouraging those who know Kevin to sign-up to the bone marrow registry.
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Butterfill will need a bone marrow stem cell transplant to recover from the leukemia.
However, according to Hema-Québec stem cell registry manager Susie Joron, the odds of the perfect match being a friend are slim.
“There’s 60,000 transplants every year worldwide,” Joron said. “The chances of having a friend or a neighbour being matched to that one person that we know is very unlikely.”
Gomes said the aim of the event is raise awareness about the stem cell donor registry.
“A lot of people were interested in joining and trying to see if they were Kevin’s match,” Camacho-Gomes said.
“But a really important thing [to note] is that when you join the stem cell registry you’re tested against everyone, so you have the potential to save anyone’s life.”
Regardless of who ends up being Butterfill’s perfect match, friends like Jonathan Coleman are still hoping they can help.
“To hear something like this happen to somebody like that, a good-hearted kid, it sucks and sad to hear,” Coleman said. “You want do anything you can to help him out.”
While Butterfill awaits news of a bone marrow donor for his stem cell transplant, Gomes will hope for a perfect match and move on to planning their wedding.
They set a tentative date for Victoria Day 2018.
For more information on stem cell donation and the registry, visit the Héma-Quebec website.
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