Photos: Man diagnosed with Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia needs N65m for bone marrow transplant, begs Nigerians for support
Idris Abiodun Bakare was in 2019 diagnosed with Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia (cancer of the blood and bone marrow). He has been living on drugs from then till early this year when the disease became treatment-resistant. He is mandated to undergo a bone marrow transplant at Hisar Intercontinental Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey latest by August ending if he truly wants to get back on his feet again. He shares his touching story with Newsclickng.com while appealing to Nigerians for support to help raise the N65 million needed for the transplant, donor, post-surgery and logistics expenses. His account details are; Bakare Idris Abiodun, 0646851016, FCMB.
43-year-old Idris Abiodun Bakare was until early 2020 a lively family man with a small scale business running.
No sooner had he gotten married and welcomed a daughter with his wife that he started feeling unease in his system. The entire family initially dismissed the constant pains he experienced as fatigue and advised that he take some time off business to rest. However, it became glaring that something more dangerous was on the way when one day he fell while ironing his clothes.
‘It started with regular feverish feelings and general weakness of my body system. Prior to this time, I have never been sick nor admitted to any hospital. When the symptoms started manifesting, I didn’t initially pay attention to it till I one day fell while ironing my clothes. Before then, I only took some time off my small business to relax at home. However, after the fall incident, I decided to visit the hospital because I experienced it more than once and was also losing weight,” Bakare explained.
According to him and from documents carrying his details sighted by this medium, his medical journey started in 2019 from Ikorodu General Hospital to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja and later on referral to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Ile Ife, Osun State.
“I ran series of tests at Ikorodu General Hospital that could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong with me. So I was asked to go for more comprehensive tests at LASUTH. It was after one of the tests at LASUTH that the doctor assigned to me (Dr. Dosunmu) noticed from the results that my spleen was enlarged and called for another test. The clinical summary and diagnosis of the second test confirmed that I have Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia (CML). I was also Hepatitis B virus positive,” Bakare said in a teary voice.
What is CML?
According to experts, CML is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood• It is usually diagnosed in its chronic phase when treatment is very effective for most patients. There are no obvious reasons why people diagnosed with it develop the disease. No one is born with CML. It happens when there is an injury to the DNA of a single bone marrow cell.
Treatment-resistant
Bakare explained that since 2019 that he was diagnosed with the disease, he has been in and out of hospitals and had been living on drugs that are either scarce or too expensive to buy.
“The drugs are scarce and expensive. There is a particular one that some NGOs are helping people living with this disease around the world get at a subsidized rate. But even at that, it is very expensive. Glivec (multinational brand of ImatiniB-) sells for close to two million naira per two to four weeks treatment. And you can imagine how many I must have used for over two years now. Aside Glivec, I also use ULGICID, Oxyurea, Augmentin, Allopurinol, Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate and other drugs too numerous to mention. Apart from the drugs, I also need to do tests from time to time to monitor progress or detect danger. I just did a TKD mutation analysis on Friday, 15th July at the cost of N50,000:00.”
According to him, the doctors have affirmed that the disease is now treatment-resistant and the only option is to be flown abroad for bone marrow transplant.
“For some time now there have been no visible improvements on my case. The doctors said my white blood cell count is elevated and as such no longer responding to treatment. They recommend that I go for a bone marrow transplant outside the country as no Nigerian hospital currently has the facility to handle such case.”
Life savings gone, properties sold
“From tests to hospital admissions to drugs, I’ve spent over N7.5 million. All life savings are gone on this ailment. I sold my car and other sizeable properties just to overcome it but it appears like I haven’t spent a dime. I just relocated my family to the rural part of town when we could no longer afford the rent at the heart of Ikorodu town. Things are that bad and it’s obvious I can’t run this race alone. My wife, daughter, families, friends have been supporting me but they can’t do it alone. I want Nigerians to help me live normal again. I don’t want to die,” Bakare pleaded.
Bone marrow transplant at Hisar Intercontinental Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Appealing to Nigerians for support, Bakare said he needs a total of N65 million to cater for the transplant, donor, post-surgery and logistics expenses at Hisar Intercontinental Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
“Through the guide of the doctors, I was able to reach Hisar Intercontinental Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. They are world famous for bone marrow, kidney and liver transplants. They charged $100,000:00 for the procedure. This is excluding donor, post-surgery and logistics expenses. That puts the total money I need at N65 million. How do I raise this kind of money without the support of Nigerians? I am calling on Nigerians home and abroad to come to my aid. Nothing is too big or small to make me live a normal life again. Kindly forward donations to these account details: Bakare Idris Abiodun, 0646851016, FCMB. God bless you all.”
