Girl with cancer has one last-chance at survival. Community raises €674,000 to fund treatment

                                        

                                                              

On March 15, 2015, 18-year-old Shauntelle Tynan was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. On February 12, 2017, she turned to her YouTube page to update viewers on her current health situation.

Shauntelle pleaded with the public to support her health care costs and explained that she has to move from Ireland to the US in order to receive treatment from a specialist in Houston, Texas. This, she explained, would be her “last-chance.”

“Of course traveling to Texas comes at a huge price. We are going to have to move to Texas for at least a year…because the cancer has gotten so out of control. I started out with cancer in my ears, my skin, my pituitary gland, and my brain. And now it’s all throughout my gastrointestinal area, colon, and stomach. It’s just kind of spiraled out of control…The doctors in Texas told me that if I don’t come out for at least 12 months then they don’t have a great chance of helping me survive,” Shauntelle explained.

Shauntelle’s mother has even written to the Minister of Health to see if they can provide some kind of help.

“We have done everything in our power to get her life back and pleaded with the Minister for Health for support but because Shauntelle requires care outside of the criteria for the treatment abroad scheme as her treatment is not within Europe. We have been swamped with acts and legislation all coming down to a big no,” her mother said.

“I really need to raise this money because I don’t want to die,” she said through teary eyes.

After Shauntelle’s video was up, it went viral. More than 26,000 people have donated to the campaign, raising more than €514,000 throughout the past two days and over €674,000 total. Go Fund Me has confirmed that Shauntelle’s campaign is the largest Irish campaign to ever be held on the crowd-funding platform.

“I’ve never been so happy in my whole life,” Shauntelle said in her February 15th video update. “I haven’t stopped crying, I haven’t slept. We live in a mighty little country and I can’t believe that people have been so good. This has been raised by about 18,000 people.”

Belfast-based MMA fighter, Andrew Murphy, announced that he will donate all ticket profits from his upcoming fight at the SSE Arena to help Shauntelle, after watching her emotional video.

“As a father to a one year old son seeing Shauntelle’s video really hit me hard,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “I have decided to give all of my ticket sale deal to Shauntelle’s fund to help get her to Texas.”

Shauntelle will travel to Texas on March 29, 2017, on her own to undergo treatment.

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