London dad battles stage four colon cancer while fundraising for CAR-T and vaccine therapies abroad
When Serdar Ferit first noticed blood in his stool in February 2026, he dismissed it as something minor and assumed it was haemorrhoids. Months of intermittent symptoms prompted him to see a doctor in July 2026, and a subsequent colonoscopy in September 2026 revealed a diagnosis far more serious than he had imagined: stage four colon cancer that had already spread to his liver and begun to seed his lungs.
The diagnosis left him disoriented and determined to explore every possible avenue to remain present for his son, Jaxon, who is now 12.
After more than three-and-a-half years of intensive treatment on the NHS, Mr Ferit has exhausted standard options and is pursuing advanced immunotherapy abroad.
He has undergone more than 30 chemotherapy infusions, received 28 sessions of pelvic radiotherapy and endured multiple painful ablations on liver and lung lesions. With a prognosis that places five-year survival at around 10% for his stage, he and his family are fundraising to access a personalised treatment programme in Mexico that combines several novel approaches.
Telling his son and the emotional impact
One of the most wrenching moments came when Mr Ferit had to explain the diagnosis to his young son. He chose a neutral spot — a small green area behind a church — to avoid linking the news to places they frequented. He asked if Jaxon knew what cancer was and admitted he had a form of it. The boy, then eight, reacted with immediate distress and repeated questions about whether his father would die and whether doctors could fix it. The experience left Mr Ferit grappling with the limits of reassurance while trying to protect his son’s wellbeing.
Navigating family care and future hopes
The emotional calculus extends beyond Jaxon: Mr Ferit also wants to remain available for his elderly parents, aged 75 and 71. That desire fuels his willingness to explore treatments outside the NHS. He has described shifts in outlook brought on by living with a life-limiting illness — an effort to embrace joy and presence even while confronting uncertainty. The personal motivation to witness his son’s adolescence and to support his ageing parents underpins every medical and financial decision he makes.
Medical journey and why the NHS options are limited
In the UK, bowel cancer affects roughly 40,000 people annually and accounts for about 17,700 deaths a year, making it the second-most common cause of cancer death in Britain. Rising incidence among younger adults — more than 2,500 people aged 20 to 49 are diagnosed each year — has drawn attention to early symptoms such as changes in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain, and bleeding from the back passage. For Mr Ferit, multiple lines of systemic therapy and local procedures stabilised disease at times but did not provide a durable cure.
His current state features seven small tumours in the lungs that are being held in check by chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Doctors warned in mid-2026 that cancer cells typically evolve and can become resistant to these medicines — a process sometimes called treatment resistance. That prospect led Mr Ferit to consider options designed to train the immune system to recognise and attack cancer over the long term.
Seeking personalised immunotherapy and public support
The plan he and his clinicians devised in Mexico includes a combination of four personalised immunotherapies: CAR-T cell therapy, two types of cancer vaccine approaches and monoclonal antibodies. These interventions aim to stimulate an ongoing immune response rather than only shrinking tumours temporarily. Mr Ferit traveled to meet the team and is now fundraising to cover a proposed two-year programme that includes treatment, travel and insurance. The estimated cost is about £290,000, and he has raised a significant portion through a GoFundMe appeal.
Why early checks and awareness matter
Mr Ferit’s story underscores the importance of recognizing early signs and seeking assessment without delay. A timely colonoscopy can detect lesions earlier, and being alert to symptoms such as rectal bleeding, persistent stomach pain, or changes in bowel patterns can make a critical difference. While not every case will require advanced therapies, awareness and prompt evaluation remain vital public health messages.
Despite the difficult odds, Mr Ferit says he is determined to be part of the minority who live beyond five years. He describes himself as unexpectedly joyful most days and committed to spending as much time as possible with Jaxon and his parents. The combination of experimental immunotherapy, community fundraising and personal resilience drives this family’s attempt to rewrite a prognosis that initially felt impossible.
