News24 | Not alone: Beloved editor battling cancer humbled by R700k donations, some from strangers

• In three short months, Andrew Trench's life was turned upside down by the shocking news that he had stage four oesophageal cancer.
• After his medical costs were declined by his insurer for a specific drug treatment, he resigned himself that he was going to die.
• But the kindness of friends and strangers, who helped him raise R700 000 against a R3.5-million target, made him realise he might have a fighting chance.

It's not easy learning that you have a terminal disease. It's even more difficult when the news comes out of the blue, and when the cancer has already progressed to stage four.

This was Andrew Trench's reality in January this year. A few weeks prior, on New Year's Eve, the well-known news editor had just completed an epic open water, 12km swim and had never felt greater.

Fast forward a few weeks, and his world has completely changed.

"The days can be so different. You can be horribly ill on one day and not be able to get out of bed, and the next day you can feel something close to being a normal person," he told News24 this week.

"You really just have to roll with the punches, and today I feel not too bad."

The diagnosis completely upended his life. Before visiting his doctor after complaining about feeling ill, he was an entrepreneur building his own business, enjoying fitness and health, looking to retire in 10 years.

"You get this news out of the blue and it completely redefines what you do. So, just getting through each day becomes the complete centre of your universe."

He used to do all the cooking in his home. Now chopping a tomato takes some effort, and so there is a knock-on effect on the family as well.

'I basically accepted that I was going to die, but then…'

Andrew's survival chances could be greatly increased with a drug called Keytruda. It is, however, very expensive, and he was turned down by his insurer, as he didn't have the right product to activate coverage.

OPINION | My life and death got corporatised, but the kindness of South Africans may change the odds

Staring death in the face, like many in his position, he thought he didn't have much hope in raising the R3.5 million he needed over two years of treatment in a worst-case scenario.

He decided to launch a BackaBuddy campaign anyway, and a Facebook campaign called Andrew's Fighting Chance. On the first day, it raised R244 000.

"Up until the point where we launched the fundraiser, I basically accepted that I am going to die within a year at most, because without this treatment, the odds were not looking too good, and I couldn't see how we could raise enough money fast enough.

"But after the first week, we were on half a million, and that initial amount was enough for me to start the treatment three weeks ago. I went from a place of complete despair and acceptance about the hand that's been dealt to me, to a point that maybe there's a chance."

Scale of cancer matched by the help of strangers

What Andrew was not expecting was the scale at which so many people would offer to help, how many of them would be strangers, and just how many of those people have been affected by cancer.

"I've been completely blown away by that, myself and my wife. On the first day of trying to fundraise, my wife came from work and collapsed from tears. And this time not from grief or sadness, but overwhelmed by the generosity of people. It's been completely and utterly humbling.

"We've had about over 600 individual donations. I know a lot of people but I don't know 600 who would give me donations. It's also incredible how many people who are helping are absolute strangers. I've never met them and will never meet them."

One that stands out was another journalist in Sweden, who was moved by Andrew's story after reading about it on LinkedIn.

"He said, 'I don’t know you, I'm also a journalist and I hope you get better, here's R5 000.' How does a stranger from another part of the world give you R5 000? It's mind-blowing.

In his view, around every second person who has been in touch with him has had their own cancer story to tell.

It's this, Andrew believes, that has made his story so relatable, sparking a resilience in a community of people who have all stared down their own fates.

"I actually had no idea that cancer was so prevalent. It's shocking how most people are being treated. It's almost become a battle for the middle class or the wealthy, because I don't know how, if you were poor in this country, you'd actually survive.

"The only option is to reach out to your community, but here in South Africa', you're in for a surprise, because people will help." 

Ribbon Run, Swim Challenge and the bravery to tell your story

Andrew's community is now pushing full steam to helping him reach the enormous R3.5-million target, following the initial R710 000 raised.

There is still a way to go, but two events have been organised for him. The first is Andrew's Fighting Chance Swim Challenge. Based on the 12km swim he completed on New Year's Eve, he is challenging people to do the same swim. Some of the participants include Michelle Weber – a two-time open water Olympic swimmer.

Another involves Andrew's running club, called the Ribbon Run. Runners in his neighbourhood of Pinelands in Cape Town are given a yellow ribbon in exchange for a donation which they can drop off at his home as they run past. All the ribbons collected will be placed on a tree in his front garden. The first run started this Friday.

"That was the whole point of the campaign, rather than not just fade away, but it's an opportunity to make a difference in fighting this thing. So it's energised me, that this might be worth putting some sweat into because it could actually save your life."

Andrew doesn't know what his future holds. The odds are still stacked against him and he still has a long way to go to raise the funds needed in the worst-case scenario.

He can only take one day at a time, but reflecting on his situation, he had this to share with other South Africans who may need some encouragement in the face of darkness: "When you are confronted by something like this, you must never for one instance think that you're on your own. That's very much what I felt in the beginning. But the realisation is that you're not on your own. You must be brave enough to stand up and tell your story, be humble enough to ask for help, and be smart enough to learn the lessons that you will from this.

"There's tons of hope as long as you throw yourself at the mercy of people who you ask for help, because they will, even if you think they won't."

- Andrew Trench is a veteran journalist who has been editor of News24, the Daily Dispatch, The Witness and The Times in his career. The links to Andrew's Fighting Chance fundraising campaign are here and here.