Shropshire Star

Zac returns to America for next stage of treatment

Zac Oliver has landed in the US to prepare for the latest round of treatment in his battle against cancer.

Published
Zac and his mum Hannah on the plane

The Broseley youngster and his mum, Hannah Oliver-Willets, are now settling in ahead of his treatment at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which starts early next week.

Zac's father, Mark Garbett, who flies to Philadelphia next week, said that they had gone out to give enough time for the youngster to acclimatise to the different environment.

He said: "Hannah has taken him a week early so she can get him used to being there, taking him into the hospital a couple of times to familiarise him with it all."

The youngster has been the focus of an incredible fund-raising drive that captured the hearts of people across the country and saw £500,000 raised for revolutionary CAR-T therapy unavailable on the NHS.

Starting next week Zac will be having high-dose chemotherapy, a bone marrow biopsy, and a lumbar puncture, in preparation for his genetically modified T-cells to be infused into his body.

Around 28 days after the infusion the hospital will know if the therapy has been a success in treating Zac's acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Mark said he was thinking nothing but positive thoughts as they prepare for the treatment.

He said: "I am optimistic, I am thinking it is going to work. I have not got a negative thought about it."

Mark said he was overwhelmed by the support the family is still receiving from the people of Shropshire.

He said: "It is a normal part of life. I took him to McDonald's the other day and people were coming up to us and saying hi to Zac, just wanting to say hello.

"It's just overwhelming the amount of people who care.

"People are still helping out and doing things. I see people on the street who say "you're going out to America" and then give me books or toys to take with us.

"Someone found some books that were called 'Zac's Zoo' so they bought them and gave them to us for the trip.

"It is just amazing."

Zac travelled out to Philadelphia's Children's Hospital in November for the first stage of his treatment.

That saw T-Cells harvested from his blood. They have since been modified in a laboratory so that they attack the cancer cells.

The cells are genetically engineered to recognise the specific protein on tumour cells, killing the cancer in the body.

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