$25K raised for Sudbury man's alternative cancer treatment
Chris Johnson's friends began crowd funding after he was given a terminal diagnosis
A Val Caron, Ont., man has raised $25,000 for alternative cancer treatments only one month after launching his campaign.
Chris Johnson, 39, is suffering from stage three esophageal cancer. In April he was given a terminal diagnosis as doctors prescribed palliative chemotherapy to slow the cancer’s rapid progression.
However, his friends were not ready to resign themselves to the diagnosis.
“When I got the terminal diagnosis I guess I was just ready to accept it. We've done everything we can do. And my friends stepped up and said no, no we haven't,” Johnson said
The options were naturopathic and other alternative cancer treatments that are costly and Johnson, on his part, did not want to gamble so much family money on that hope.
“I wasn't going to take money away from the future of my kids to give me a false promise of hope,” he said.
He said that initially doctors laughed when he said he was seeing a naturopath.
But alternative treatment shouldn't be ruled out, according to Sue Robson from Kidney Cancer Canada. While perhaps worth a try, Robson is also wary of asking the government to pay for unproven treatments.
“I think there are many people at a very difficult crisis in their life that are being taken advantage of, taking medication where there's nothing to support its going to help them,” she said. “And I've talked to many, many, many over the years.”
For Johnson and his friends, it was worth a try and one month ago, his family and friends began a crowd funding campaign to try and raise money for the alternative treatment options not covered by OHIP or private health insurance plans.
And after only one month they’ve reached their halfway goal, leaving Johnson overwhelmed by the support.
"It's really humbling to see all these people coming together for you,” he said. “Watching people give to a total stranger. That makes me think, you know what? I think I had more to give.”
Johnson said he's received donations from people around the world who say they have been affected by his story. He hopes that the combination of chemotherapy and alternative treatment can buy him more time with his family.