Caerphilly mother desperate to raise £200,000 for German cancer vaccine that could cure her son

Ethan Hamer, 14, from Caerphilly has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, not normally found in children. He can't be treated in the UK, and the only place he can is in Germany. His parents want to raise £200,000 and have so far hit more than £70,000.
Ethan's mother, Debbie Hamer, told ITV News that he was a fit and healthy young boy until the spring time of this year, when he started experiencing pain in his chest, hips, knees, and back. Credit: Family photo.

A mother has made a desperate plea to raise £200,000 to pay for a potentially life-saving cancer vaccine in Germany for her teenaged son.

Ethan Hamer, 14, from Caerphilly was diagnosed with an aggressive form of oesophageal carcinoma cancer in August this year.

Debbie Hamer told ITV News this type of cancer is not normally found in children.

He can't be treated in the UK but the family say a vaccine called Autologous Tumour Cell is available at a clinic in Germany.

Ethan is a Wales football fan and before to his illness, he attended every home game over the last 9 years. Credit: Family photo.

She said: "A professor at the German clinic said they have this personalised cancer vaccine. It's specifically for Ethan.

"It can't be given to everyone. They draw blood from Ethan, which is then sent to the laboratory, where a personalised vaccine is produced based on Ethan's blood properties.

"It recognises all the cancer cells and basically kills every single cancer cell without his good cells. There's also a drip that he'd have daily for five weeks."

Ethan is a Wales football fan and before his illness he went to every home game in the last nine years.

He recently won the Caerphilly 2K run and in June finished 4th in the Welsh 800m Championships.

Wales captain Gareth Bale sent Ethan a supportive video message.

He said: "I hear you're going through a difficult time. Just want to send a little message to say, stay strong, keep fighting, we're all behind you and hope you get well soon."

More than £70,000 has been raised so far on a GoFundMe page. His mother said both her and her husband are overwhelmed by the support they've received so far.

But they say they need £200,000 for follow up treatment in the months and years to come.

Debbie and her husband have been trying to find this money alongside caring for their other children.

She said: "It's very hard to try keeping a normal family life going."

"I haven't been able to work. My husband will have to spend 5 weeks with Ethan in Germany. It's very difficult."