Northampton dad ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘emotional’ at £35,000 raised for overseas cancer treatment

A Northampton dad feels “overwhelmed” and “emotional” that more than £35,000 has been raised in aid of securing him overseas cancer treatment.

Justin Vanezi, owner of authentic Greek food business My Meze BBQ and a DJ for a number of years, was diagnosed with two types of cancer last year and “time is now not on his side”.

One is an extremely rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, called Primary Cutaneous Diffuse B Cell Lymphoma of the leg, and the other is Large B-Cell Lymphoma which grows daily.

Justin has undergone 14 rounds of chemotherapy, 15 rounds of radiotherapy and most recently CAR-T therapy – all in less than 12 months.

However, as all options on the NHS have been exhausted, his partner Becky Collinson set up an online fundraising page at the end of last month to fund the only avenue left – overseas treatment and trials.

Justin was given this news just four weeks ago and within weeks of no treatment, his leg swells and large blisters and tumours grow at the top.

Talking to the Chronicle & Echo, Justin admits he was not expecting to be told there was nothing more that could be done for him.

He said: “It hit my partner hard and I’ve had lots of time to think and process this for myself.

“You are thrown back by it when you feel really well and it is just an issue with your leg. When I was told, I just didn’t believe it.

“It has been such a tough time over the past year. My son Joey is three. At this age, I want to see my family, see my son grow and be there for him.”

Justin could be the only person in the world with this rare type of cancer and sadly, with more focus and research going into treatments for cancers that affect more patients, he finds himself in this situation.

“Just because I am unlucky and have a rare form of cancer doesn’t mean I should lose my life,” he told this newspaper. “You are only a case study once you are gone and I feel written off.”

After receiving the news just a month ago, the question Justin and Becky kept asking was ‘where do we go from here’.

Though they have looked at trials in the UK and Justin has been referred for one in Leicester, the US has “many more clinics and advanced medicines”.

Justin says that with “more flexibility and less delays” over in the US, a team in the UK is doing all they can to search for trials all over the world that may help.

When asked how it feels that more than £15,000 was raised in the first 24 hours of the fundraiser going live on May 30, Justin said: “I’m overwhelmed with the support. It makes you emotional.

“It is isolating when you have cancer – you see fewer people and have less connections – but this fundraiser has brought everyone together. The community is massive.”

As many businesses have gone out of their way to host events and donate profits, Justin says it is “very selfless” of them to do so much with their own financial struggles.

He wants to promote and give a platform to the businesses as a thanks for showing their support – and a full list will be published by the Chronicle & Echo in due course.

The online fundraising page has now reached more than £35,000 in just over a week since it was set up, which Justin says is “amazing”.

GoFundMe has been in contact to say the fundraiser has one of the fastest rates for donations in the UK at the moment.

For Justin, this journey is not just about raising funds and securing overseas treatment but raising awareness of blood cancer – which is becoming more common in younger people.

“I didn’t know anything about it before my diagnosis,” he said. “The symptoms can be similar to anxiety and stress.”

Justin experienced unexpected dizziness and feeling clammy before going to the doctors to get checked out, but he says others might experience less prominent symptoms.

For those who have been diagnosed, Justin said: “Always research your cancer yourself. Make sure you challenge the doctors if you feel they are not looking into something enough or not giving you the treatment you want.

“If I could go back, I’d push more.”

With long waits for scans and treatments, and the NHS being inundated with patients, Justin says to “push for yourself”.

Talking about the progress that has been made with researching trials overseas, Justin says referrals have been made to clinics in the US.

He only wants to go ahead with a trial if there is a high chance of it being successful, as it would be a lot of money to spend if there was a low chance.

“Nothing solid” is yet to come of the search but Justin is determined to leave “no stone unturned” after feeling like he has been “put to the backburner”.

“We’re trying so hard to find something to give us hope,” said Justin. “There are good people out there who are willing to help.”

Any donations not used to find the right treatment for Justin will be donated to Blood Cancer UK and Cancer Research, to make a difference to how this disease impacts other families.

To visit Justin’s online fundraiser and make a donation, click here.