Portsmouth newlyweds close to reaching husband's £100k life-saving cancer treatment target '“ and they need your help
And thanks to the generosity of 3,200 people and counting, the 26-year-old with stage 4 pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer says he has been given '˜another shot at life' because of the miraculous £91,000 raised within three weeks.
Adam Long and his wife Georgia, from Southsea, are overwhelmed by the kindness of friends, family and strangers in Portsmouth and across the country.
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Hide AdThe large amount of money raised means they have been able to start planning Adam's specialist immunotherapy treatment at Southampton General Hospital '“ but they still have £9,000 left to raise.
The rugby player, who was diagnosed with the aggressive disease in 2015 and has endured five rounds of chemotherapy, said: '˜My GoFundMe page went live on August 1 and we knew we would receive an initial influx of donations, but we never imagined we'd get this far so quickly.
'˜I'm amazed to be honest. It really shows the power of social media.
'˜The biggest thing that has stood out to me is how people have united as one to help a family going through something terrible.
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Hide Ad'˜You only hear about the bad stuff in the world, but it's moments like this that should be shared.
'˜I can't thank everyone enough or describe what this means not just to me, but to Georgia, our family and our friends.
'˜Because of everyone I've been given another shot at life and another chance of survival with treatment that I wouldn't have had before.'
With what he has witnessed so far Adam said he sees no reason why he can't reach his £100k target.
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Hide AdThe Portsmouth community banded together not only to donate but to organise fundraisers and car boot sales to help with funds.
When Adam was diagnosed aged 23, the cancer in his pancreas had spread to his liver, lungs and peritoneum.Â
While research into biopsies taken from Adam is carried out, he is on a course of chemotherapy in the hopes it will stabilise the disease.
Georgia Long, 24, said: '˜Adam will be monitored to ensure the chemotherapy is working. His cancer is extremely aggressive and grows at a rapid rate if it's not controlled.
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Hide Ad'˜While this is underway the immunology specialists at Southampton are sequencing the biopsies to prepare a treatment plan for immunotherapy.Â
'˜We want everyone to know how grateful we truly are and how much people have changed our lives with their support.Â
'˜Because of it we have been given so much hope for the future.Â
'˜We were hoping to raise the funds but it's such a large amount we didn't know if we would be able to achieve it. We wouldn't have been able to fund the treatment otherwise and would have been left with no options, so it means everything to us.'
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Hide AdAdam recently appeared on BBC South Today with Georgia, who he married on July 6 this year, to talk about his situation.
Georgia added: '˜I'm pleased neuroendocrine cancer is being made more aware of through our story.'
To donate visit GoFundMe.com and search Adam Long.
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