Dad-of-three undergoing new cancer treatment abroad after smashing initial £100,000 fundraising target
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Chris Layock, 44, who was given as little as 12 months to live, is now in Germany receiving the immuno-oncological therapy that could not only prolong his life, but potentially save it.
Unavailable through the NHS, he was told he would need the six-figure sum to cover the costs, and set about fundraising in July, with hopes the target could be reached by the autumn and travel Europe by the end of the year.
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Hide AdBut the former Ossett Comprehensive pupil powered through the fundraising target and is already abroad receiving the treatment, which is designed to strengthen his immune system that can control and even eliminate cancer.
FUNDRAISING FOR CHRIS: Click here.
Accompanied by his partner, Jo Booth, they caught a ferry to mainland Europe despite Chris suffering a seizure prior to setting off. However, the doctors gave him the green light to travel.
He has taken to Facebook to record his progress and said: "Everything is going really well in Germany and to thank you again for your amazing support.
"I’m currently having daily electrohyperthermia, IV vitamins and I’m also having alcohol therapy - breathing it up my nose four times a day, and no I don’t get drunk, unfortunately - and a load of other pills and vitamins.
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Hide Ad"We’ve been in Germany for two weeks now and feeling better for it."
This week he has received his first dose of his specially-tailored vaccine, and he wrote: "I had my first personalised vaccine thanks to your amazing fundraising efforts - I will never be able to put into words how grateful I am; and that’s not just because the tumour is effecting my speech!
"This is the first cycle of treatment and I’m due back in another few weeks for round two!
"And yes, they injected my vaccine in my ear - I was a little surprised but apparently they hope it’ll be more effective as it’s literally closer to my brain."
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Hide AdChris, who runs a flooring company in Lancashire where he now lives, was "in the best shape of his life" and competed in gym competitions before he was given the devastating diagnosis earlier this year.
Before that, he began showing symptoms that he and Jo thought were simply down to his Covid-19 injection, including a dead-arm feeling often associated with the vaccine jab.
But it then spread to his leg, he began to struggle to grasp words and his depth perception was affected.
As his condition deteriorated, a scan eventually showed that he has two brain tumours, one of which is an aggressive stage-4 glioblastoma that continues to grow rapidly.
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Hide AdIt also means it is less responsive to regular treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which is already undergoing, and dramatically reduces Chris' life expectancy.
Support for his fundraising has been in plentiful supply, with the total now at £117,000.
This has been helped along the way by an unlikely supporter- Hollywood star Alex Winter.
After joker Chris named his tumours Bill and Ted after the 80s film, word got back to Ale, the movie's star, who helped spread the word on social media.
Chris is now hoping to hit £130,000, with plans to travel to and from Germany over the next year as his treatment progresses.
To donate, you can click here.