The family of a 16-year-old fighting an aggressive form of cancer is in a race against time to raise £500,000 for potentially life-saving treatment overseas.
A crowdfunding appeal for Kiran Talluri has already raised £177,000 in just a day after his mum made a heart-rending appeal for help.
Kiran was diagnosed with T-ALL leukaemia in January, when he was 15, and had nine months of treatment, including a bone marrow transplant from his nine-year-old sister, Asha.
Despite positive early signs, he was told by doctors last week that the cancer had returned even more aggressively and there is nothing they can do.
The A-level student’s family is now pinning its hopes on a complex treatment in Singapore, which has only been given to three children before.
The CART T-cell therapy at the National University Hospital will need to start in a matter of weeks after Kiran was offered a ‘compassionate place’ by the hospital.
Kiran’s mother, Cristina Ferrer, said: ‘No words can ever explain what my son Kiran has gone through or could express his sorrow, his pain, his fear during all these months. Watching my 16-year-old boy listening to what the doctors had to say the other day was unimaginable, unbearable.
‘Hearing from his medical team that there are no more chances, no future.
‘And then there is us: three sisters, a dad, a mum. A beautiful family of six, united and full of collective and individual dreams and plans.
‘And then there is Silence. Nothing. Panic.’
The 16-year-old noticed his eye twitching last Wednesday and realised something was wrong, two months after his bone marrow transplant.
Kiran, who is from Queen’s Park but grew up in Barcelona, was then told by doctors they had run out of options in the UK.
On the GoFundMe page, Cristina said: ‘Kiran is the sweetest person I have ever known.
‘He is kind and peaceful; since he was a child Kiran has always wanted to avoid any conflict and just live his life smoothly, often trying to pass unnoticed in all kind of situations.
‘He is serene and reserved, always avoiding doing any harm to anyone.
‘He is truly respectful; not just a polite child with good manners, but deeply respectful of all the living beings that surround him. I have never heard a judging word from him.’
Funds from the appeal will go towards treatment costs including a £280,000 deposit, with any remaining money being donated to cancer research.
Cristina added: ‘I love my boy. I love how he is. And I think life and the world would be a better one if he can stay longer. Much longer. Please, please, please, help us in trying to keep Kiran with us. I don’t want to let him go.’
Kiran, who is the second of four children, described himself as a fan of video games and nature who enjoys travelling, basketball and volleyball and playing the guitar and piano.
He said: ‘I was diagnosed with leukaemia (T-ALL) back in January 2020, when I was only 15 and it has been a very difficult journey since then.
‘At first the side effects of the treatment were bearable so I tried to keep on going to school and studying for my exams but soon we all realised our life had changed dramatically and everything was no longer like it used to be.
‘I couldn’t meet my friends, I couldn’t go to school, I couldn’t practice any of my favourite sports and, something that really upset me, I was not able to fly back home and go fishing in Mallorca or walk in the fields of La Segarra.’
Overcoming complications from the bone marrow transplant, the teenager’s early recovery looked good, until the shattering news last week.
CAR-T – chimeric antigen receptor – therapy involves reprogramming the patient’s own immune system cells which are then used to target the cancer, according to the NHS.
It is ‘highly complex’ and ‘potentially risky’ but has been shown in trials to cure cancer patients where other treatments have failed.
Kiran, who attends Queen’s Park Community School, said: ‘I am very anxious as it is a very innovative treatment and only 3 patients have tried it so far.
‘We are still not sure about long term side effects.
‘But, even if it doesn’t go well, I am still optimistic because I know I will be contributing to science and hopefully this treatment will help cure other patients with T-ALL in the future.
‘Please help me receive the opportunity to stay alive and fulfil my future and my hopes and dreams.
‘First, I would like to go back to my ordinary teenage life, to carry on with my A Levels, to go back to my volleyball, to travel back home to Mallorca and Montoliu, to study Computer Science at Uni, but also to simply enjoy life along with my beloved ones; my 3 sisters, my mum and dad and all my relatives and friends.
‘My dream is to become a game developer and enjoy my adult life fully. Please help me to get there.’
View the GoFundMe page here.
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