General News
30 August, 2024
Local resident Nic Cahoon remains hopeful as bone cancer fight continues
When Maryborough local Nic Cahoon had a fall at work, he thought he’d pulled a hamstring — now a year later, he’s facing the daunting possibility of an amputation unless a chemotherapy trial yields positive results.
Nic was diagnosed with a rare type of stage one bone cancer in 2023 and despite initial success with surgeries, doctors found three more tumors in his pelvis in June this year.
A recent scan further revealed the cancer had proliferated “quite heavily” — leaving 25-year-old Nic with two options.
“There’s a fair few tumors, and a lot of them are quite large. They’re dotted around the left hand side of my pelvis,” Nic said.
“I’ve been told that I can wait for a trial, which could be a little while still but the more likely option is they’re probably going to have to amputate my left leg and the left side of my pelvis.
“If that happens, there’s no prosthetics that you can put on — I won’t be able to sit ever again.”
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Currently, Nic and his family are hopeful that a new trial in Adelaide, which he has been accepted into, will go ahead soon because every day is critical.
“I was told that I maybe have a little bit under three months to make a decision,” Nic said.
“If we get to that 90 day mark, the leg has to come off — it’s as simple as that.
“We’re holding hope for Adelaide but we might have to look at going international as well.”
Going overseas for treatment, while burdened with that looming deadline, is also made harder due to extremely high costs.
In July, the family started a GoFundMe, hoping to raise $10,000 for the trial.
Excluding medical care, these funds were also expected to help Nic and his partner Jayde in managing their day-to-day life with necessary recovery expenses.
However, these estimates were made before Nic’s condition deteriorated.
“We’ve hit the GoFundMe goal of $10,000 which is great but [unfortunately] it’s not going to be enough at all,” Nic said.
“It’s been a bit hectic but the support I’ve gotten so far has been unbelievable.”
Through this challenging ordeal, even in the face of potential disability, Nic is unwavering in his optimism.
“Being hopeful, I reckon, is the most important thing in a situation like this,” he said.
“All the extra stress layered on top of this is not ideal but you’ve got to keep that positive mindset and attitude.”
According to his sister-in-law, Michaela, Nic has always been a buoyant individual — overlooking the negatives.
“It’s hard to watch someone you love go through something like this, it is really difficult but Nic has had such an unbreakable spirit,” she said.
“He’s always kept his personality shining, constantly thinking about other people, it’s incredible.”
As someone who has “always put other people first”, Michaela said the community could now extend their support to him and the family.
“Both Nic and Jayde will have to take significant time off work so if people could continue to donate to the GoFundMe, that could make such a big difference,” she said.
“That money will also help them make changes to their house, which is quite old, and they need to renovate the place for Nic to easily move around.”
To help with Nic’s medical expenses, donate to the fundraiser at www.gofundme.com/f/send-nic-to-sydney-to-beat-his-returning-rare-bone-cancer