Co Mayo man Jim Duggan, who is battling cancer, is in need of a life-saving transplant in New York City.
Duggan's daughter Corina Cunningham has launched a GoFundMe to help support her father in receiving the transplant at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
The GoFundMe, which received a welcome boost of support from GAA pundit Joe Brolly, is aiming to raise $500,000 for Duggan's treatment.
Jim Duggan from Bekan Co Mayo needs a life saving bone marrow transplant op in the US. He suffers from leukaemia. His daughter Corina Cunningham has organised this. Save a life, save the world. https://t.co/6dj4kJ7sbo
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) July 20, 2023
Duggan's daughter wrote on the GoFundMe page: "Jim is from Bekan, Co. Mayo and is married to Bridie (nee Heneghan from Westport). Jim is also father to Paul and Tommy and grandfather to Eoghan and Saoirse.
"As a family, we are setting up this fundraising page to help pay for Jim’s life-saving cancer treatment in New York at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center over the coming weeks.
"Jim was diagnosed with Leukaemia in May 2022 and started treatment in June 2022 in preparation for a bone marrow transplant. Jim received a bone marrow transplant in September 2022 in Ireland.
"It seemed like everything was going to plan until Jim's results suddenly changed. At the start of July, out of nowhere, his doctor brought him into a room alone and told Jim he had three months to live, to go home and get his affairs in order. The medical team also told him there was no chance of doing a second transplant in Ireland.
"As you can imagine, Jim was heartbroken, as was his wife Bridie and three children, Tommy, Corina and Paul and his brothers and sisters.
"Jim said, 'This was the hardest thing to hear, not just because I wouldn’t be around anymore, but rather because I was leaving my family and friends behind.'
"Jim came to New York to receive a second opinion from a transplant doctor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and they said that his best chance was to start treatment right away and they would do a second transplant.
"The treatment is for Leukaemia, a cancer of your white blood cells and bone marrow. Bone Marrow is the place where blood cells are made in your body. With Leukaemia, immature blood cells divide quickly and do not grow into mature cells. These immature cells crowd your Bone Marrow and prevent it from making normal healthy cells, bringing me to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York.
"But like anything, this treatment is expensive, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center require payment of their medical bills before Jim can start the treatment.
"Jim has asked me to set up the GoFundMe page to help us get started and give Jim the best chance of receiving the best care and chance of beating this cancer. I will be paying the medical bills on his behalf directly to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as I am resident in the US. Jim will be living with me while receiving his care.
"Every donation is greatly appreciated. Thank you to all of the Duggan and Heneghan family and friends who have donated already and continue to support us at this time."
You can support Jim Duggan's GoFundMe here.
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