Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Twenty-year-old cancer patient Dinesh Gadraj has begun a new round of medical testing in India as his family presses on with efforts to raise hundreds of thousands of US dollars needed for the life-saving cancer treatment doctors say could give him a fighting chance.
Speaking to Guardian Media, his father, Steve Gadraj, confirmed that Dinesh’s mother, Diana Gadraj and his brother Damian Gadraj have already arrived in India and accompanied him to Apollo Hospital, where specialists have begun reassessing his condition.
“They reached safely, and he has started to redo tests for the cancer treatment,” Steve Gadraj said.
“The flight was long, but Dinesh’s spirit is high. We are living in the hope that he will overcome this.”
Despite that optimism, Gadraj said the family is still far from raising the funds required to proceed with the complex treatment plan recommended by doctors.
“We still have a long way to go to raise enough to do what is required,” he said. “But his mother and brother are there with him, and they are determined to do whatever it takes.”
The former Shiva Boys Hindu College student has been battling high-risk B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, which has relapsed and become resistant to standard treatment.
Doctors in Trinidad and Tobago have told the family there is little more they can do locally.
As a result, the family sought a medical opinion from specialists in India. After reviewing his medical reports, Dr Gaurav Kharya, clinical lead at the Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy at Apollo Hospital, recommended urgent CAR T-cell therapy, an advanced form of immunotherapy used to treat certain relapsed blood cancers.
If the treatment successfully puts the cancer into remission, doctors plan to proceed with a bone marrow transplant. But, Gadraj said the cost of the treatment remains daunting.
According to the family, the estimated cost of the evaluation, CAR T-cell therapy, transplant procedure, follow-up care and accommodation for approximately 18 weeks ranges from about US$151,900 to US$165,000.
The Ministry of Health has contributed TT$100,000 towards Dinesh’s treatment, while an online fundraiser has raised just over US$3,400 so far.
Even with that support, the family remains far from the amount required to proceed with the treatment plan.
Dinesh had previously spent months in and out of hospital while doctors attempted to treat the aggressive cancer.
Anyone wishing to assist can donate to a First Citizens Bank account at the Penal branch in the name of Diana Gadraj, savings account number 3144693, or contribute via GoFundMe.
The family can also be contacted at 366-0423 or 395-5420.
