Manik, 22 | Metastatic Germ Cell Tumor
Manik, a young boy aged 22, was diagnosed with metastatic germ cell tumor, a tumor of the testis. The patient had earlier undergone surgery for it and had exhausted all his personal funds in doing so. So, when it came to further treatment, he faced a very difficult time arranging funds, and that led to a delay in his treatment.
He came to OCA Foundation for help at a stage where cancer had spread to his lungs. But luckily in such cases of lung metastatic, the survival rate is generally high, more than 50% (the 5-year survival period). The patient was required to receive treatment with a high-dose chemotherapy called VIP Protocol, which is intensive chemotherapy. He was admitted for 5 days per cycle and this was repeated every 21 days for 6 cycles.
The patient’s family was from Uttar Pradesh but his elder brother who stayed in Vapi, Maharashtra, was helping his brother out with treatment and care. The treatment cost was coming up to approx. 3 lakhs. Apart from the treatment cost, the cost of traveling all the way from Vapi was also a big challenge for the family. To add to that, since he was traveling from Vapi every single time, the cost of in-patient hospitalization for 5 days for every 6 cycles also amounted to a huge sum. But, belonging to a lower-middle-class background, they did not have the bandwidth to afford such an expensive treatment. The family then reached out to OCA Foundation and after due diligence and document checks, the patient was approved for receiving funds for his treatment from the Foundation. Once, he received the funds from OCA Foundation, his treatment kicked off immediately and he started responding very well to the treatment given. The PET CT scan is done after 3 cycles and showed a near complete response now, he has just finished his 6 cycles of chemotherapy and he will be going in for another scan very soon. His treating doctor is quite confident and believes that the second scan will show a good response to the treatment. Apart from the treatment provided, the Dr. faced a tough time convincing the patient to take up the treatment. As the major side-effect of such treatments is generally hair-loss and for such a young boy the thought of losing all his hair was a major concern and barrier in his mind. But the constant support and counselling done by the treating Dr. and OCA Foundation helped in giving the patient, the much-needed strength and comfort to be able to not just take up but also complete the treatment successfully.
*Names have been changed to maintain patient confidentiality