A MAN battling brain cancer has urged people to reach out to more of those undergoing treatment as friends rally around him and his family.
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Former Intagolf owner Drew Drummond was diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma late last year, undergoing surgery within days to remove an aggressive tumor.
Friends, family and the business community have come out in force, helping him, his wife and children wherever possible with the children, plates of food and mowed lawns.
They also set up a GoFundMe campaign and pledged nearly $28,000.
On February 9 at 3pm they will hold a fundraiser at Vereka Stone, with businesses around Bendigo donating goods to be auctioned.
“I would hate to have gone through this battle alone, without that support, which unfortunately a lot of people do,” Mr Drummond said.
He and wife Amy said the best thing people could do for those also facing aggressive cancers was reach out with kind words and acts.
“For my family to be shown the support group that is around them is really important. It picks up their morale as well,” Mr Drummond said.
Mr Drummond was not able to drive or work anymore.
“The fundraising’s relieved the financial burden we would have been under if it wasn't for this amazing army of people behind us,” Mr Drummond said.
Funds had also helped the couple spend time making memories with their children.
In retrospect, the anxiety he began experiencing as he sold his business in mid-2017 was an early stage of cancer.
His apparent anxiety attacks were actually small seizures from a tumour sitting on an emotion centre in his brain.
Mr Drummond said he was lucky he had been so open and honest with people about what he was feeling, even speaking to his GP.
“So he had all the notes when I went in for the last time and said ‘look, I’ve got some headaches radiating from the back of my neck up to the right hand of my head’,” he said.
That made it easier to diagnose the tumour, Mr Drummond said, with his GP immediately ordering a scan.
Mr Drummond had undergone surgery, but the tumour was so advanced its arms had tentacled out.
“That’s why it is such an aggressive form of cancer,” Mr Drummond said.
Despite that aggression, he vowed to fight on and was positive about how he was approaching treatment.
“I’m 40, I haven’t smoked in my life, I’ve drank pretty sparsely with friends, I exercise and play a lot of golf,” he said.
Still, one of the best weapon he had was people’s support and acts of kindness.
To visit the GoFundMe page click here.
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
