Dear Friends, Acquaintances and Those Wishing to Help!

My name is Kata Maczó-Sára and I am launching this fundraising campaign for my husband, Tamás Maczó, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

On the evening of 12 August 2026, our third child was born. Our joy knew no bounds; my husband had been actively helping throughout the birth of our little boy, so I wasn’t surprised when he said he felt very exhausted and had a headache. A few days later, when we came home from hospital with the baby, he was still complaining of a headache, which became so severe after a few days that we took him to A&E. CT and MRI scans revealed a malignant tumour, fortunately in a location that could be operated on. The operation was successful, but barely two weeks later, even before his stitches had been removed, he was readmitted to hospital with unrelenting headaches, where he underwent another operation. Based on the histology, she was diagnosed with grade IV glioblastoma (WHO grade 4). This is an extremely aggressive type of brain tumour. It is prone to recurrence even after surgery. The diagnosis was devastating; all I could think about were our three young children.

How did it all start?

Tomi takes great care of his health. He had blood tests done every year, went swimming twice a week, cycled, and did exercises every morning. As a pharmacist, I made sure he was taking the right vitamins. He considered a proper, healthy diet to be important. He wasn’t the sort to get ill, so you could say that both the illness and the gravity of the diagnosis hit us all like a bolt from the blue.

Who is Tomi?

An extremely hard-working young man who, alongside his job, helps out with the family’s gardening business, which has been growing chrysanthemums for nearly forty years.

Above all, he is a loving father of three. He adores his family; our shared mission is to create a happy childhood for them and to build up shared memories. We go on lots of outings, go camping, visit museums and exhibitions, or simply go for bike rides with them.

His hobby is fishing, which our daughters have also come to love; as our middle daughter says, ‘Dad, when are you going to catch a little fish for me?’

To me, he is not just my husband, but my best friend, my partner, my dance partner, the one who makes me laugh, the one who brings all my crazy DIY ideas to life, my safe harbour in a storm, the one who knows my every thought, the most attentive support for a mother, and the one who successfully resuscitated our middle daughter when she was barely ten days old. Now it’s my turn to give him a chance at life too.

The current situation:

Tomi has undergone two operations and is currently receiving intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, steroid treatment and other complementary therapies. The tumour was located in the left hemisphere of his brain, close to the motor pathways. At present, his right leg is only partially mobile; he is not yet able to move around unaided, and is trying to improve his condition through physiotherapy. Unfortunately, the Hungarian healthcare system has only been able to help him up to this point.

In this situation, we have sought to explore other avenues; moreover, several of our acquaintances have recommended immunotherapy, and we have found a great deal of positive information about it. Under Hungarian legislation and in accordance with the procedures of the National Health Insurance Fund (NEAK), as this is an experimental treatment, it is not currently eligible for funding.

You can also read about it in the following Nature article.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51315-8?fbclid=IwY2xjawP7GF1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETA5eUtYaDJTNlRwelZtMHdIc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHoTDKmS7j4nOGT5Yj-7Z3DG80mWiSBYrnlOU6h_AqufRTIX4agDiG4Dw0LZ4_aem_Ti0oRAnj2kKg-wDTq0fvew

In consultation with the treating doctors in Hungary, we decided to go ahead with immunotherapy, as we had come across extremely positive results and feedback.

With this treatment, we are giving ourselves a chance to slow the progression of the disease, buy time and ensure a good quality of life; moreover, we believe in recovery, perseverance, solidarity and, as a religious family, in the power of prayer.

I’d love for you to see our children grow up, to teach our little boy Easter rhymes at Easter, to ask your daughters to be bridesmaids at his nursery school wedding, if you could hang another picture for me on the overcrowded wall of our little house, where there might be room for yet another picture of a new shared experience. If you could catch that little goldfish.

Our aim

We would like to give Tomi the opportunity to try immunotherapy. The histology report required to start treatment is available and we could send it to the hospital providing the treatment.

We would use the funds raised to cover the costs of immunotherapy, the process of which is as follows:

1.) The tissue sample and blood are sent to the laboratory abroad.

The clinic will then examine the samples received and, using the DNA profile and the institute’s genetic database, once the first instalment (20,000 euros) has been paid, work can begin on preparing the peptide chain that will form the basis of the subsequent vaccine. This process takes approximately 4 weeks.

2.) If the peptide chain is successfully produced, serum production can begin following payment of the second instalment (60,000 euros). This takes 3–4 months.

3.) You will then need to travel to Germany (or to the subcontracting clinic in Lithuania) to begin the first 4–5-day course of treatment and observation.

4.) Further treatment sessions are scheduled every 4–6 weeks, at which point you will need to travel abroad again, this time for just 1 day at a time, whilst your immune response is also monitored. The total duration of treatment is therefore 15–16 months, and we will also continue with treatment in Hungary.

How can you donate?

Donations are collected in euros, as we have to pay the clinic for the treatment in euros.

Even the price of a coffee or a chocolate bar is a great help, as we know that every little bit adds up :)

If the payment system is glitchy or gives an error, don’t let that put you off – it’ll work the second time round. If the little hourglass icon doesn’t stop spinning, or the system indicates any other problem, close the window and open it again. Your donation won’t be counted twice, but if it does happen, we can of course refund it.

In the ‘Support the 4fund.com team’ section, you can choose whether you’d like to support the website itself or the fundraising platform. By dragging the slider – which is set to 20% by default – to the left or right, you can adjust the amount of your support; this will be donated not to Tomi’s treatment, but to the development company.

We would appreciate your help and support with the above!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email at [email protected] or by telephone on 36309708277

With sincere thanks, respect and gratitude in advance,

the Maczó family