A popular school worker in Walton has heaped thanks on residents after they helped raise over £50k in a single for his cancer treatment.
Chad Alexander works with special needs children at Walton Leigh Primary School, and was officially diagnosed on Friday, October 18 after six-hour surgery.
Chad, who is a father to two young children aged four and one, was told by doctors he had contracted Renal Medullary Carcinoma (RMC), a rare type of kidney cancer that is most often found in younger people who carry the sickle cell trait.
Since then, Chad with his family and friends have launched a massive fundraising effort in the hopes of raising enough money to get him specialist treatment overseas.
Earlier this week, Chad posted an update to the Just Giving fundraiser page thanking all those who had contributed and confirming that they had exceeded their lofty target of £50,000 in a single week.
"THANK YOU! Those two words will never be enough! £50,000 IN ONE WEEK... Honestly you all are so amazing, the support financially, socially, emotionally has just been incredible," the father of two said.
"Unfortunately RMC is relentless and has made me alter my treatment options.
"My aim currently is to start chemotherapy as soon as possible in the UK then in a couple of months travel to Houston, Tx for my treatment to be reviewed.
"With your support I have no doubt I’ll #BunCancer," he added.
The money is needed because of the rarity of the disease and the difficulty in treating in properly.
As the Comet reported previously, RMC is so rare that there is believed to be only one survivor if the disease living.
They were treated a specialist clinic in the United States (Houston, Texas), and the hope is that with the new funding Chad will be able to afford to fly there for an appointment and expert treatment.
Last week the Comet spoke with one of Chad's colleagues at the Walton Leigh Primary School, who described why the community were so united behind the fundraiser.
"He goes out of his way to help our children at the school who have got severe special needs," said Rachel Lavey, a teaching assisstant at the school.
"He's such a lovely guy so it would be so nice to be able to give something back to him because he's given all his time and effort towards other people," she added.
To donate to Chad's fundraiser, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bun-cancer
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