Dean Kharitou, 25, lives in Melbourne and is a loving husband to Gozo-born wife, Jolene, and father to their 16-month-old daughter, Anastasia. In April, Dean was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of cancer that stems in the white blood cells, which generally help the body’s germ-fighting immune system. We heard that the young family were appealing for funds to help them get through this difficult time, so we got in touch to find out more.

This all started when Dean began having trouble swallowing, and following some scans and checks, he found out that he had a large (16cm by 11cm) mass in his chest. “We’ve been going through treatment for the past two to three months now. Treatment is going well, and the doctors were able to shrink down the mass and put me into remission, but there’s still a long way to go,” Dean says.

Dean still needs to see out two more years of treatment, which includes a lot of heavy chemotherapy, which is very harsh on his body. “At the moment I’m doing four days a week of intensive chemotherapy, where I get my bloods taken everyday and checked, and they hook me up to chemotherapy which wears me out.”

The doctors, consultants and haematologists have told Dean that he cannot work for the next two years. “Sometimes I’m admitted into hospital, sometimes I’m an outpatient, so it’s virtually impossible for me to work.”

Because of this, the family is struggling, and have set up a GoFundMe page for anyone who would like to help out. They're currently at $29,436 out of the $50,000 goal. “I would really appreciate whatever anyone has to give, even just a small amount,” Dean says. The money will be going to his medication, the house payments, as well as childcare and maintenance payments for little Anastasia.

“If anyone could give generously, or even sparingly, whatever it is, it will help our family massively. It will also help go towards my future treatment and God willing it will go well, and I get through the other side of this. I thank everyone for watching and I just hope that you can find it somewhere in your heart to just help us out, even if it’s just a little bit. Thank you very much. ”

Dean shares the story of his journey so far below. If you’re a little on the emotional side like us, you can skip to 3:45 for his appeal:

If you can spare anything for this family, you can donate through the GoFundMe page.