Branko's Final Wish

Branko is suffering from the most deadly kind of brain tumour known as Glioblastoma Multiforme for which there is currently no cure. Since his initial diagnosis in October 2010 he has undergone 6 surgeries, radiation and countless rounds of chemotherapy in an effort to afford him more time and the chance at the latest medical advances.

Developments in brain cancer have been far and few between, and funding is desperately needed to research this evasive killer. Brain tumour diagnosis is almost always terminal with less than 18 months on average from prognosis to death.

Living in Wollongong NSW, Branko worked in BlueScope Steel as shiftworker for much of his adult life as he married young and needed a stable job to support his growing family.

Having raised his children, Branko like anyone, was now very much looking forward to all the joys that this would bring, weddings, grandchildren and growing old with his wife.

Instead, a week after his eldest daughter's wedding he was struck down with the diagnosis that he had a brain tumour, and the deadliest one at that - Glioblastoma Multiforme. At 51, he was told that he would have 18 months to live at best.

This news, whilst devastating in its own right, was compounded by the fact that not even a year prior, he had watched his father-in-law succumb to the same disease in 5 short months. Brain cancer is a particularly vile disease, which robs you of the person you are, systematically shutting down your brain, all the while leaving your body perfectly healthy but unusable.

5 years on, Branko is still fighting, and has had the pleasure of meeting 3 of his grandchildren, the youngest just 3 months old. However, this meeting will most probably be short-lived as his tumour has returned with a serious ferocity, leaving him with a few short weeks, months at best.

All the surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy has left Branko with right side paralysis, problems with his speech and comprehension. He has been in and out of hospital and rehabilitation centres for last 3 months, since his last surgery (in April this year), all in the hope that he may improve if the tumour can be kept at bay. This horrible disease has robbed him in the prime of his life.

Branko's wish like anyone living with cancer, is to be around long enough to try the latest that research has to offer. It seems his wish maybe granted in the form of a clinical trial based on immunotherapy.

The trial uses a vaccine known as Gliovac and has yielded some promising results in Belgium and the US. The trial is not currently available to Australian residents and as such is on a pay per use basis. Branko will be the FIRST patient in Australia to participate in this trial with the help of Dr Charlie Teo and his team. If successful, this could help expedite the introduction of this vaccine to other patients in Australia.

To confirm if the vaccine is working, Branko will need at least 3 rounds of treatment, with each round costing 50,000 Euros. If after 3 months, there are promising signs, the treatments continue over a 24 month period with 12 rounds in total.

Due to the nature of this horrible disease, Branko has been unemployed since diagnosis and I have been his full time carer, so as you can imagine this does not allow us the opportunity to save the kind of money required for this trial. But as you can imagine I am desperately trying to find anything that will save his life.

We are now looking for support in our fight against this disease. Your donation will not only help Branko, but also provide the much needed funds to assist the thousands of young children and adults who are diagnosed each year with this horrible disease.

Please help us grant Branko's last WISH and donate anything you can. Over the 5 years through Branko's journey we have seen first hand this type of cancer touch the lives of too many young people who have yet to experience what life has to offer. Lets work together to beat this disease.