WATCH: More than $100,000 have been raised so Pat Placzek can get treatment he needs in Seattle. Jennifer Palma reports.
Friends and family of a Vancouver man with leukemia are banding together to pay for his potentially live-saving treatment in Seattle.
Pat Placzek, 34, has been battling cancer since 2012 when he was diagnosed with sarcoma. He fought it only to be told last May he had an aggressive form of leukemia.
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He has undergone several rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.
“The last few months have been kind of the wait-and-see period,” says friend Anique Ross. “They sort of give 100 days as the marker to give you the all-clear. When he was told that the cancer had returned last week, we were just about 10 days shy of that mark. Pretty heartbreaking.”
His oncologist recommended Placzek take part in an experimental trial at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that will cost more than $500,000 Cdn.
“This is his last chance,” says friend Tobin Pope. “This is what the focus is on right now, is getting him down to Seattle.”
More than $100,000 have been raised so far.
Those interested in donating can visit Placzek’s online fundraiser page.
Friends have also come up with several fundraisers including T-shirt sales and comedy nights. They are also hosting a fundraiser at Onlok Supply Co. on April 11.
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