A teenager fighting liver cancer for a second time is on a mission to complete his bucket list after the disease returned “with a vengeance”.
Sam Thomas was 14 when he was first diagnosed with an extremely rare form of liver cancer. Thirty per cent of his liver was removed, as well as the tumour. He was cancer free for four years, but last year his battle began again.
Now 19, Sam has had a constant stream of treatment since then but without much success, and his family fears “there aren’t many options left”.
Due to the location of the new tumours, Sam’s cancer cannot be removed with another operation. The teenager is currently trialling a course of immunotherapy with the hope of managing them.
Sam has experienced problems with a build-up of fluid in his lungs recently but hopes to be able to complete his bucket list while he is still healthy enough to do so.
The teenager has set himself an extensive list to achieve including a safari in South Africa and diving with sharks.
Now his sister Katie Ware and her colleague Izzy Vaughton-Westerhoff are taking part in a 70 mile walk over three days to raise money to allow Sam to complete the list.
The two women will be walking the entirety of the circumference of the Isle of Wight, carrying camping gear along the way.
“Sam is not getting any better” said Katie, “So we want to make memories with us all.”
Since launching the GoFundMe page, Ms Ware has raised more than £15,000 for her brother and has been overwhelmed by the response.
“My brother sobbed when he found out how much we have raised,” she said. “He would have been happy with just £500. He is super grateful and super excited and thinking about all the amazing things he could do with the money”.
She added that although the teenager has to fit his bucket list plans around his treatment, he is already excited to get underway with a visit to a South African safari at the top of his list.
“He would love also love to do a shark dive, crocodile dive, go on a cruise and would like to play golf at our local club, which is really expensive”, she added.
Going forward, Ms Ware who is a baker by trade, plans to hold a bake sale and a sponsored cycle to raise more money for her brother. “The sky is the limit with donations”, she said.
“To be diagnosed at such a young age is a lot to deal with and as his older sister If I could swap with him I could, without question”.
Ms Ware said if more money could be raised, the impact on her brother would be “phenomenal”.
“Sam wants to do the things that most people have a lifetime to achieve”.
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
