UPDATE: Light at the end of the tunnel for Ballito cancer victim

After being diagnosed with Recurrent Metastatic Melanoma Cancer earlier this year, Ballito’s Nico Viljoen has had his life turned upside down, but some recent good news may just get him on the road to recovery.

The 46-year-old ex-soldier and father of four who works in Ballito, has been accepted for a clinical trial in Israel at the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer.

What started as a small mole that needed to be removed from his arm just over a year ago, which was likely caused by excessive time spent out in the harsh Iraq sun during his service there many years ago, led to the recent diagnosis.

Also read: Community rallies as Ballito’s Nico Viljoen fights cancer battle

Last month Nico, along with his fiancé Tracy Boyle travelled to Israel to determine the next step in his treatment.

“Nico has gone through a variety of tests in Israel and they have given us an option for him, which is roughly $20 000 (R296 829.03) per treatment. He will need four treatments,” said Tracy.

The specialised treatment is available at the Sheba Medical Centre which has been recommended to Viljoen by doctors.

However, because of the huge expense of this treatment, Nico has been enrolled into a clinical trial. He will be administered a combination of Lenvatinib and Pembrolizumab.

“The cost of the recommended route is just too huge for us. Raising that kind of money with our rand exchange will take a long time, time is something we just don’t have.”

The objective of the study is to see to which extent the combination of the study drugs work, the safety of the drugs and to test if the drug combination will help patients live longer.

There are currently 660 people participating in the study worldwide, of which 48 people are based in Israel. The study will last roughly two years.

“The clinical trial is obviously a lot more affordable as the medication is free, but we still need to continue the fundraising to assist with flights to Israel every three weeks (approximately R9000 each), accommodation, hospital stays, scans, blood tests and doctors’ visits, among other hidden costs.”

“It has been quite a tough journey – arriving in a country you do not know with a language barrier and extremely expensive living costs has been overwhelming. Fortunately, two families who have followed our journey on Facebook kindly offered their homes to us which saved on accommodation costs.”

Nico’s samples will be sent to America for testing and he will remain at home until the results are in and he is given the go ahead to travel back to Israel.

If you would like to donate towards Nico’s cancer fund, click HERE or follow his journey on his Facebook page, Nico Viljoen Cancer Fund.

Be the first to receive breaking news straight to your device with our newly launched push notifications! Simply visit our website and click on the icon shown above.

Do you want to receive news alerts from The North Coast Courier via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram