Connor, 7, from Christchurch was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma with a Philadelphia-positive chromosome in August 2021.
Connor, 7, from Christchurch was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma with a Philadelphia-positive chromosome in August 2021.
A 7-year-old Christchurch boy who has been battling cancer since the age of 4 has just relapsed and now needs surgery in Australia before he is put in palliative care.
Connor Coster was approved last week for chimeric antigen receptor - or CAR T-cell - therapy, but a family friend says that would mean travelling to Melbourne for the treatment.
Lisa Chalmers, a close friend of Connor’s mother Lisa Robertson, has set up a Givealittle page to get him and his mother to Australia for what she believes will be a “life-saving treatment”.
“Connor has one last option to try before they switch him to palliative care,” Chalmers said.
“The family is really struggling financially, as only the husband can work since Connor is in and out of hospital constantly.”
The page has so far raised $2850 from 64 donors in 22 days.
Chalmers said she started the Givealittle page to help the family cover costs for Melbourne, where she believes they’ll have to stay for several months.
Connor was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma with a Philadelphia-positive chromosome at the age of 4 in August 2021.
Connor needs to get to Melbourne to undergo his approved CAR T-cell therapy.
This is Connor’s second relapse and the cancer “has come back very fast”, she said.
In September 2021, Connor’s dad Bobby Coster said they had been out swimming and “things weren’t right”.
“Connor was screaming in agony with pain in his right leg. We couldn’t see anything, so took him to the doctor,” Coster said.
“The doctor examined Connor, couldn’t determine the problem and directed us to give Connor pain relief, and [said], ‘If it isn’t better in 10 days, come back and we will do x-rays’.”
Connor had a second relapse in his cancer battle last week.
Coster said Connor was in absolute agony for four days and could not walk, so they took him to another doctor who immediately sent them to Christchurch paediatrics, and he was x-rayed and underwent blood tests.
The x-ray showed no sign of fractures so Connor was sent for an MRI, after which the doctor said he had a bone infection which could be treated with antibiotics.
But further review of the MRI found a large mass on Connor’s pelvis, and this was confirmed to be cancerous.
“We found out that Connor was riddled with it - in his spinal fluid, a mass on his spine, a large mass on his pelvis, in his kidneys, and a few masses in his little ankle bones,” Coster said.
“A couple days later we got the full diagnosis of a rare acute lymphoblastic lymphoma B-cell with a Philadelphia-positive chromosome.”
Connor completed months of chemotherapy and radiation at Christchurch Children’s Ward and had surgeries to remove lymphomas.
However, he had a relapse in May 2023 and underwent a bone marrow transplant at Auckland’s Starship Children’s Hospital in August.
“Connor’s bone marrow transplant seemed to be a success, and Connor had returned to school and had been enjoying spending time with his friends and learning,” Chalmers said.
But at the end of April this year, an ultrasound and bone marrow tests confirmed Connor had relapsed a second time.
Chalmers said Connor’s parents are in their mid-30s and living in Christchurch, where his dad works for an earthworks company which recently went into liquidation.
“This only further added to their emotional and financial stress,” she said.
“I have known Lisa for nine years and she is an incredibly beautiful and genuine soul. She and Bobby are amazing parents to their two children - Connor’s brother is Koda, who is 4.”
