Hugo Donaldson was diagnosed at age 9 with Stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma He is pictured at right, with his family. Photo / Supplied
Hugo Donaldson was diagnosed at age 9 with Stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma He is pictured at right, with his family. Photo / Supplied
An Auckland family are in a desperate race to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a cancer trial in the US that could offer their 11-year-old son a lifeline.
Without the vital funds, he cannot start the process, which his parents are calling their last shot.
Beachlandsresident Hugo Donaldson was diagnosed at 9 years old with Stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer.
After enduring nine rounds of high-dose chemotherapy and 28 sessions of radiation, he was declared cancer-free in August 2024.
Just months after receiving the good news while on maintenance therapy, he relapsed in March.
“I guess to be brutally honest, very few people cure from this,” Aaron told the Herald.
“Hugo has fought so hard, but the cancer keeps coming back. This trial represents his best, and perhaps only, chance at survival.”
Hugo has been accepted into a CAR T-cell clinical trial at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, one of only eight worldwide so far selected.
The treatment, which uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, is provided free as part of the study but hospital care, travel and living costs must be paid upfront.
The family are facing an eye-watering $500,000 bill to make the trip possible.
“We know of at least one child with the same type of cancer who received a similar version of this treatment at the same hospital and is now in long-term remission,” Aaron said.
“It gives us hope that Hugo might have that same chance.”
Hugo Donaldson is one of only eight patients accepted worldwide so far for a CAR T-cell clinical trial at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, his father describing the treatment as possibly the last hope. Photo / Supplied
What is the therapy?
Dr David Steffin, associate chief of the Cell Therapy and Bone Marrow Transplant programme at Texas Children’s Hospital, spoke recently on his social media about the research.
“To put it bluntly, we’re looking for a cure,” Steffin said.
“This clinical trial is the only one of its kind in the world for treating solid tumours using CAR T-cell therapy.
“What makes this approach so promising is that the specific marker we target exists on tumour cells but not on healthy tissue, which allows us to attack the cancer without causing unnecessary harm.”
Over the past few years, Steffin said there have been some “remarkable outcomes”.
Hugo Donaldson's family are facing a $500,000 bill to make the trip to Houston in the hope of successfully treating his Stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. Photo / Supplied
The therapy Hugo needs involves extracting his blood in New Zealand and sending it to the United States, where scientists will modify his T-cells to recognise and destroy cancer cells.
The process takes up to six weeks, after which Hugo and his parents will travel to Houston for low-dose chemotherapy, followed by the CAR T-cell infusion over five weeks.
Despite full medical insurance, the family’s policy does not cover overseas care.
Hugo’s parents said they have applied to withdraw KiwiSaver funds, extended their mortgage and are selling assets, but without public help, they fear he won’t make it to treatment in time.
