*Update 31st May 2023

A message from Elton’s parents

Dear donors,

We are deeply grateful and also appreciate for everyone who contributed, spread and shared the campaign. Your meaningful words and prayers for Elton have given him strength to journey on.

Without each one of you, this would not have happened.

Thank you very much.

With love,
Vincent and Kay

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A note from the Ray of Hope team

A big thank you to all donors who came forward to support Elton’s campaign! The campaign target has now been fulfilled and we have proceeded to transfer the funds of SGD318,503.08 (USD 233,750) to the hospital today. Due to the differences in exchange rates, the amount transferred is higher than the campaign target of SGD$309,500.

Next Steps:

1. Upon receipt of the funds, the hospital will send a blood kit for Elton. Meanwhile, Elton will continue with chemo in Singapore while his blood sample gets sent to the hospital to start the process of growing the cell.
2. Once this is completed in 3 to 5 weeks’ time, the family will fly over to the USA for the clinical trial.

*Excess funds will be used for Elton’s medical expenses including the shipping fees for Elton’s blood sample to be sent to the USA.

We’re grateful for the community’s support and will continue to keep donors updated on Elton’s progress.

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What happened to Elton?

5-year old Elton was diagnosed with recurrent metastatic hepatoblastoma.  This rare liver cancer occurs mostly in premature babies at the right lobe of the liver. Multiple scans showed that Elton’s tumour has grown and will eventually block blood flow back to the heart. Cancer lesions were also spotted in both of his lungs. 

Since his diagnosis in November 2020, Elton has undergone multiple surgeries and lines of chemotherapy. The GPC3-CAR-T clinical trial in the USA seems promising for a total cure for him. However, the cost is beyond what his family can afford. It is a race against time as the best time to treat is when the tumour markers are low. Unfortunately, time is not on their side since the tumour can grow exponentially at any time. Full payment must be made before the hospital can proceed with the appointments. 

How can you help?

Elton’s parents hope to raise USD233,750 (SDG309,800) for the 5-week clinical trial. Fees quoted exclude airfares, travel insurance, accommodation and other post-surgery care to be covered by the family.

Elton’s Cancer Journey:

November 2020 – Elton’s Initial Diagnosis and the start of his Chemo

Shortly after celebrating his 2nd birthday, our son Elton was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hepatoblastoma. 

Elton started on his 6-cycle chemo a few days later after his diagnosis – 3 pre-surgery and 3 post-surgery. He suffered from severe side effects from the chemo including fevers, nausea and diarrhoea. His frequent stay in the isolation ward impacted him greatly, leading to his fear of seeing doctors and nurses step inside the room. As parents, we could only comfort him that everything will be okay. 

February 2021 – First Major Surgery lasted 17 hours

Elton’s surgery lasted 17 excruciating hours, but it kept him alive. The surgery consisted of a heart bypass, surgical removal of 2/3 of his liver and connecting an artificial tube from his liver to the heart’s main vessel. He was prescribed blood thinning medicine so the blood won’t clot up the artificial tube. 

Elton’s happiness from his discharge was short-lived. After 4 months, he had to return to the hospital when his neutropenic fever relapsed.

April to July 2021 – Lung lesions removed

Elton had his lung lesions removed in April and May, and finished his last cycle of chemo in July. However, doctors advised that there were some microscopic lesions in the  lungs which could not be removed through surgery. We could only pray that chemo ‘killed’ it. In July, Elton was declared disease free when his tumour marker went from 6 digits since diagnosis to double digits. 

August 2021 – Another lung surgery 

Elton’s tumour marker rose, which prompted another lung surgery in early September. It went well, and Elton seemed to recover post-surgery. However,  the tumour marker only showed a small dip before it started to rise up exponentially again. We restarted his chemo in order to contain the ever-growing cancer cells. 

October 2021 – Bleeding in Elton’s brain & 2 brain surgeries

Elton showed signs of fatigue, sleeping throughout and vomiting twice in the evening. He was rushed to KKH A&E urgently. We were hit with the greatest fear that one can imagine – Elton’s brain was bleeding due to a suspicious clot and the pressure was pushing his brain to the right.

I  got a call from my wife and rushed to the hospital from work. The neurologist explained the two available options – to either let Elton undergo an immediate brain surgery or to let him go painlessly. We were given just five minutes to make this a life and death decision for our dearest son. It was excruciatingly painful, almost too much for us to take. My wife was sobbing so hard as I told myself that if I gave up at that point of time, I would probably regret it for the rest of my life.

We proceeded with the surgery and it successfully released the pressure in Elton’s brain. A small portion of the clot tissues were sent for lab testing. Few days later, lab results were out confirmed that they were indeed Hepatoblastoma cancer cells, prompting another brain surgery. The surgery was done on 27th October, resulting in some sight impairments in his right eye.Post surgery, his tumor marker dropped to double digits before picking up again in December. Elton re-started on his chemo but the cancer cells in the brain simply could not be contained. 

February 2022 – Third brain surgery

A third brain surgery was carried out to remove the cancer cells, only to realise that the cancer cells had latched onto the main blood vessel of the brain and could not be fully removed. 

March 2022 – Elton underwent the Stereostatic Radiosurgery (SRS) for his brain

SRS is a type of radiotherapy that allows precise and high dose radiation beams to be delivered to a small, localised area of the body, mostly in the brain to destroy a lesion. Elton’s tumour marker once again went down to double digits only to rise exponentially two months later. At this point, Elton relied on maintenance chemo to prolong his life.

November 2022 – Gamma Knife surgery

We were not prepared to give up on Elton, and sought a second opinion at the hospital. We caught a glimpse of hope to save our son through another form of radiotherapy called Gamma Knife (GK). Gamma Knife surgery is a computer-guided radiation therapy that does not require an incision. GK radiotherapy was carried out, and cisplatin chemo was given two weeks later with a total of 3 cycles. Despite the possibility of a partial hearing loss, we proceeded with the chemo. 

The combination of GK and cisplatin worked pretty well. Even though Elton was not cured,  the tumour markers are not rising as aggressively as before. Since February 2023, Elton has not received any more treatments. Our last hope is the clinical trial for GPC3-CAR-T or immunotherapy for a total cure in the USA. 

Our last hope – Why the GPC3-CAR-T clinical trial?

The clinical trial enrolls patients who have GPC3-positive solid tumours. The trial uses special immune system cells called GPC3-CAR T cells which also produce a molecule called interleukin-15 (15.GPC3-CAR T cells). The study combines two different ways of fighting cancer: antibodies and T cells. Antibodies are types of proteins that protect the body from infectious diseases and possibly cancer. T cells, also called T lymphocytes, are special infection-fighting blood cells that can kill other cells, including cells infected with viruses and tumour cells. Both antibodies and T cells have been used to treat patients with cancers. Investigators have found from previous research that they can put a new gene into T cells that will make them recognise and kill cancer cells. In preclinical studies, the investigators made several genes called a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), from an antibody called GC33 that recognizes glypican-3, a proteoglycan found on solid tumours including pediatric liver cancer. In addition, interleukin-15, a molecule important for T cell function, was found to further improve the anti-tumour properties of GPC3-CAR T cells. This study will test T cells genetically engineered with an interleukin-15 and a GPC3-CAR in patients with GPC3-positive solid tumours. 

Appeal from Vincent & Kay

It has truly been a distressing journey for us as parents, and we are immensely grateful to the doctors and anesthesiologists who persevered through the long hours to fight for our son’s life. 

Please give whatever you can spare to save our son. We would be extremely grateful if you could send this campaign as widely as possible across your networks. Every dollar, every share, counts in this urgent fight. 

Follow us on instagram (@mreggdiary0118) to stay updated on Elton’s journey. 

With love,

Vincent and Kay

*****

From Ray of Hope

Elton’s campaign has been verified by Ray of Hope case managers. We have been in direct contact with Elton’s primary doctor in Singapore and have also sighted doctors letters stating the above mentioned treatment options 

Please donate generously to give Elton hope and a second chance at life. 100% of your donation will be used for the clinical trial.

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FAQ

How will the funds to the campaign be used and where are the funds going?

The donations made through the campaign page go directly to Ray of Hope. 

Ray of Hope will handle the donations received and pay for the cost of the clinical trial.

What happens if there are insufficient funds for Elton’s treatment?

Ray of Hope will provide an option for refunds to all donors within a reasonable timeframe, minus any administrative costs incurred during the refund process. These admin costs are incurred  from the payment gateway, not Ray of Hope.

What happens if the funds are raised, but Elton passes on before receiving the treatments?

In this unfortunate situation, if the funds have not been transferred to the hospital for the respective treatments, Ray of Hope will provide an option for refunds to donors within a reasonable timeframe, minus any administrative costs that were incurred during the refund process. These admin costs are from the payment gateway and not from Ray of Hope.

How can I donate?

All donations shall be made via this campaign page which gives you the option to donate via Credit Card or via Paynow by scanning the unique QR code generated for the campaign.

Kindly refrain from directly donating to ROH’s UEN via Paynow as we are unable to track your donations to the campaign you wish to donate.

Does Ray of Hope take a cut or charge an admin fee for running this campaign?

Ray of Hope does not take a cut from donations nor charge an admin fee for helping our beneficiaries. We even cover the bank and credit card charges out of pocket so that 100% of your donation goes to the campaigns. These fees can come up to 3% of the overall campaign target. 

However, as donors, you may choose to give to Ray of Hope so we can continue to help more beneficiaries like Elton at the checkout page. This donation is optional.