Fight to Live
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Help hero Dad's
fight to get life-
treatment
Help local father Ian O'Keefe
raise the money he needs
for the treatment he needs
and win him precious time
to spend with his young
family.
Ian needs your help today to
raise thousands of pounds
to pay for a course of
wonder-drug Avastin that
can help keep cancer at bay
for up to 3 years. Because
Avastin is not on the NHS'
approved list, Ian could have
to pay £15,000 for a
6-month course of the drug.
He's organising a 'midnight
marathon walk' along
Gosport's beautiful Stokes
Bay. Why not come and join
him? Or sponsor someone
who IS taking part. The walk
starts the night of Saturday
Match 14. See below for
details.
Alternatively, come and
enjoy an evening of music
and entertainment at
Thorngate Halls on Friday
April 10. Tickets are just
£10 each, or £20 for a
family of four. See below
for more.
Help buy Ian precious time
with his wife and 4 children
today.
It's so simple – and so
important.
fight to get life-
treatment
Help local father Ian O'Keefe
raise the money he needs
for the treatment he needs
and win him precious time
to spend with his young
family.
Ian needs your help today to
raise thousands of pounds
to pay for a course of
wonder-
for up to 3 years. Because
Avastin is not on the NHS'
approved list, Ian could have
to pay £15,000 for a
6-
He's organising a 'midnight
marathon walk' along
Gosport's beautiful Stokes
Bay. Why not come and join
him? Or sponsor someone
who IS taking part. The walk
starts the night of Saturday
Match 14. See below for
details.
Alternatively, come and
enjoy an evening of music
and entertainment at
Thorngate Halls on Friday
April 10. Tickets are just
£10 each, or £20 for a
family of four. See below
for more.
Help buy Ian precious time
with his wife and 4 children
today.
It's so simple – and so
important.
Army Sergeant Ian O’Keefe is a
remarkable man who has embarked on
a heroic fight.
A fight to defy terminal cancer and
to live as long as he can for his young
family.
Here he tells his full story.
remarkable man who has embarked on
a heroic fight.
A fight to defy terminal cancer and
to live as long as he can for his young
family.
Here he tells his full story.
Army sergeant Ian O'Keefe and his 3-year old son Jaxson are having a
cuddle on the sofa and watching cartoons on TV. It is an ordinary family
scene you would expect to see in living rooms everywhere. But in this
particular household it is one with very special meaning.
“The kids keep me going. I want to do all their birthdays, then Christmas.
It's helped me set my sights.”
Father of four Ian, 38, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour last
March. He could have just months to live. He is fighting to raise enough
money to pay for treatment that could prolong his life by up to 3 years –
precious time he wants to have with his family.
“When I was told, it was like the Earth stood still. Now I want as much
time on this Earth as I can get. I want to make it to next Christmas. If I
make it until next June then I will be eligible for my army pension.
Hopefully I'll be well enough to enjoy it with my wife and kids.”
It is only by chance that he has made it this far. When he told his doctor
about his headaches, sickness and collapsing, he was told it was just
stress and not to worry. “Then I was watching telly one night and
couldn't focus properly, so I decided to go and get my eyesight checked.
The optician saw that I had bleeding on the retina and told me to go to
QA straight away. If it hadn't been for her I would have been dead
within weeks.”
Doctors discovered a 6 centimetre tumour. By now Ian had started fitting.
He underwent immediate surgery to remove the tumour at Southampton
Hospital. A few days later he was told it was a grade 4 glioblastoma – at
best, he had just 2 years to live. He began an exhausting round of
radiotherapy and chemotherapy. “The chemo and radiotherapy knocked
me for six. I was constantly feeling crap for about 8 months.” His hair fell
out and his weight ballooned.
He is now coming to the end of a 3-month break from the treatment, and
faces a fresh scan at the end of March to see if it has grown back.
Doctors will then assess what the next steps are.
On March 14, he is organising a midnight marathon along Stokes Bay to
raise money for Avastin, a drug that could keep him alive for 3 more years.
It's a miracle drug that could make a real difference to Ian and his family.
But because it is not funded by the NHS, he could have to pay for it
himself. A 6-month course costs a whopping £15,000.
“Avastin cuts the blood supply to the tumour. It was originally used to
treat bowel cancer. It gives people an extra 3 years. To me that's like a
lifetime. The average survival rate for this type of train tumour is 18 to 24
months. At the end of next month it will have been 12 months since I was
diagnosed.”
Ian's campaign has moved people and local businesses from across the
region to help. A white goods firm in Shirley is donating a percentage of
its profits to help fund Ian's treatment. A Southampton mum has cut off
her hair to raise money. Gosport Council Leader Dave Smith is
organising a fundraising evening of entertainment at Thorngate Halls on
Friday, April 10.
“If the health service won't fund it, I'll ask the army. If the army won't
fund it I'll pay for it myself. And if either the NHS or the army does
decide to pay the Avastin then all the money raised will go to charity, for
example to fund new neuro-nurses at Southampton Hospital,” he says.
In the meantime, Ian is training hard for the marathon. “I'm up to 13 miles
so far, although there are days I can hardly go up the stairs I feel so tired.
“But I'm determined to make it.”
scene you would expect to see in living rooms everywhere. But in this
particular household it is one with very special meaning.
“The kids keep me going. I want to do all their birthdays, then Christmas.
It's helped me set my sights.”
Father of four Ian, 38, was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour last
March. He could have just months to live. He is fighting to raise enough
money to pay for treatment that could prolong his life by up to 3 years –
precious time he wants to have with his family.
“When I was told, it was like the Earth stood still. Now I want as much
time on this Earth as I can get. I want to make it to next Christmas. If I
make it until next June then I will be eligible for my army pension.
Hopefully I'll be well enough to enjoy it with my wife and kids.”
It is only by chance that he has made it this far. When he told his doctor
about his headaches, sickness and collapsing, he was told it was just
stress and not to worry. “Then I was watching telly one night and
couldn't focus properly, so I decided to go and get my eyesight checked.
The optician saw that I had bleeding on the retina and told me to go to
QA straight away. If it hadn't been for her I would have been dead
within weeks.”
Doctors discovered a 6 centimetre tumour. By now Ian had started fitting.
He underwent immediate surgery to remove the tumour at Southampton
Hospital. A few days later he was told it was a grade 4 glioblastoma – at
best, he had just 2 years to live. He began an exhausting round of
radiotherapy and chemotherapy. “The chemo and radiotherapy knocked
me for six. I was constantly feeling crap for about 8 months.” His hair fell
out and his weight ballooned.
He is now coming to the end of a 3-
Doctors will then assess what the next steps are.
On March 14, he is organising a midnight marathon along Stokes Bay to
raise money for Avastin, a drug that could keep him alive for 3 more years.
It's a miracle drug that could make a real difference to Ian and his family.
But because it is not funded by the NHS, he could have to pay for it
himself. A 6-
“Avastin cuts the blood supply to the tumour. It was originally used to
treat bowel cancer. It gives people an extra 3 years. To me that's like a
lifetime. The average survival rate for this type of train tumour is 18 to 24
months. At the end of next month it will have been 12 months since I was
diagnosed.”
Ian's campaign has moved people and local businesses from across the
region to help. A white goods firm in Shirley is donating a percentage of
its profits to help fund Ian's treatment. A Southampton mum has cut off
her hair to raise money. Gosport Council Leader Dave Smith is
organising a fundraising evening of entertainment at Thorngate Halls on
Friday, April 10.
“If the health service won't fund it, I'll ask the army. If the army won't
fund it I'll pay for it myself. And if either the NHS or the army does
decide to pay the Avastin then all the money raised will go to charity, for
example to fund new neuro-
In the meantime, Ian is training hard for the marathon. “I'm up to 13 miles
so far, although there are days I can hardly go up the stairs I feel so tired.
“But I'm determined to make it.”
You can now donate directly to the appeal for Ian O’Keefe at
any Abbey National branch by making a donation to the
following account:
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 24480347
SORT CODE: 09-01-27
any Abbey National branch by making a donation to the
following account:
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 24480347
SORT CODE: 09-
UPDATE:
Ian’s 9-hour walk for life
Well done to Ian O’Keefe and
the 30 supporters who joined
him in his midnight marathon.
Ian’s 9-
Well done to Ian O’Keefe and
the 30 supporters who joined
him in his midnight marathon.
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