Robert, has been diagnosed with a brain tumour — glioblastoma (wild-type, GFAP positive, IDH1 negative). This is a very aggressive form of cancer, with an average survival time of around 15 months.

He has already been through brain surgery, and radiotherapy and chemotherapy are now ahead of him. There is unfortunately no realistic prospect of a permanent cure, as recurrence is extremely common. That is why we want to do everything we possibly can to give Robert the best possible care and treatment, and perhaps gain some precious extra time together.

We have never asked for financial help in our lives, and we never imagined that we would ever have to. However, as our financial resources are limited, we would like to ask you, if you are able to, to support our family on the difficult journey that lies ahead.

The funds raised would be used for the following, depending on how Robert’s illness progresses:

If an opportunity becomes available after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, we would like to apply for experimental treatment. If we are not accepted into a clinical trial or treatment program, we may have to consider privately funded options. Depending on the amount raised, this could potentially take place in Lithuania, Austria, Germany or Belgium, where treatments such as personalised vaccines or immunotherapies based on Robert’s individual genetic profile may be available, with the aim of extending his life. The total cost of these treatments starts at approximately EUR 165,000.

In case Robert reaches the end stage of his illness and requires hospice care, the limited number of publicly funded places may mean that we would also need to arrange private care. The cost of this starts at approximately EUR 200 per day.

For the past three years, long before we could even imagine that something like this could happen to us, our youngest son has been conducting research on a potential chemotherapeutic substance called phototrexate. If there are any funds remaining from the donations after covering the needs described above, we would use them to support our son’s cancer research.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who can help — whether through a donation, by sharing the link of this fundraiser, or simply by providing information about any promising glioblastoma treatments or clinical trials that might be relevant to Robert.

Every contribution, every piece of information and every share means more to us than we can put into words.