Crossfit competitor to cancer fighter

Warren Lowe was diagnosed with melanoma at the end of January.

Warren Lowe had no idea that when he woke up one January morning, that his life was about to change.

The 44-year-old was the healthiest and fittest he had ever been in his life and even training for his first crossfit competition, before being diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic melanoma at the end of January.

Warren's daughter Kelly Molan, who lives in Te Puke, says one morning when he got up to go to the bathroom, her father collapsed.

She says a numb sensation started travelling up his leg fast and he thought he was having a stroke.

'He was rushed to hospital, and within a few hours and a bunch of scans, Warren was told he had three tumours on his brain and one was bleeding.

'By the end of that night he had lost all sensation to his right side of his body and could not move anything or feel anything.”

Kelly says her dad went on to have CT scans done and he has many large tumours growing inside his lungs, throat and brain and many, many small ones spread throughout his body. 'As you can imagine this is an absolute nightmare. He has since suffered a massive clot, which made him blow up too an unimaginable size waist down.

'After a few weeks and a filter inside him, this has past, thank god as the clot was on its way to his lungs.”

In March/April, Warren started his treatment with keytruda.

Three weeks ago he had a scan to see how it was helping and sadly it has done nothing.

'He's been told he has a BRAF mutation,” says Kelly.

'With no treatment he has 6-9months....so says the doctors.”

While it all may seem lost, Kelly says there is some light at the end of this 'nightmarish tunnel”.

'There is a treatment he can use that can extend that time frame and better his quality of life.

'However, his treatment is going to cost $18,000-20,000 per month as it's not funded by the government in New Zealand (keytruda was).

'Pulling together every single cent he has, he has enough money for three months treatment.

'We are asking and pleading from the bottom of our hearts to please help us fundraise a few more months. It's literally the only option we have,” says Kelly.

'We now have to pray and count on our friends, family and even strangers to please help us in any way possible.”

People wanting to help can donate via https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/warrenlowe

The family has a number of other fundraising ventures lined up. To follow Warren's journey, head over to his Facebook Page.

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