‘Just give him a chance’: Family urges Ontario to fund life-saving U.S. cancer treatment for son

The parents of a little boy at McMaster Children’s Hospital say time could be running out for their son.  

They say they’re hoping for public support as they try to convince the Ontario government to pay for a new cancer treatment that could save his life.

Cole Pilipovic, five, comes from Kitchener to be treated at Mac and his parents are putting their hopes on new therapy being studied in Philadelphia.

They say they’re not giving up – even after Ontario’s Ministry of Health said it won’t pay for the treatment.

Cole’s father, Dan Pilipovic, said the boy has the right to live. 

“Just give him a chance – that’s all we’re asking,” Dan said. 

Cole was diagnosed with leukemia a year ago and is mother Shannon Pilipovic says cancer is taking a toll on him. 

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“He’s a tough kid but cancer’s tough too,” Shannon said. 

Cole’s leukemia is aggressive and after fighting it for one year, his parents are hoping for a new therapy in the United States. 

The American hospital’s website quotes a parent as saying: “We knew relapsed leukemia is hard, so we came to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.”

The boy’s parents say a new therapy under study at the hospital could lead to a potentially lifesaving bone marrow transplant for Cole.

But at a cost of around $500,000, the health ministry said it won’t pay for what it calls an “experimental” service, leaving Cole’s parents disappointed.

“Isn’t every medication experimental?,” Shannon said. “Every chemo drug or medication we’ve taken over time started out being experimental.”

Cole’s parents say the U.S. treatment has demonstrated good results so far.

Dan says the treatment is working for some kids so it’s worth a chance for his son. 

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“It’s a 40 to 50 per cent success rate in the kids that have done it so far so it seems like pretty good odds to me,” Dan said. “The success rate is amazing –  we don’t have that success rate with the chemo medications that we continue to keep trying.”

Cole’s parents are appealing the ministry’s decision not to pay for the treatment. That process has friends and family worried that Cole might not be around long enough to hear the results of the appeal. 

For now they’ve set up a GoFundMe page to help Cole’s parents with the expense of travelling from Kitchener to a Hamilton hospital.

Cole’s parents say they are appealing to the compassionate side of people to give Cole another chance to live.

“It’s our child – there is not a price tag you can put on our child right?” Shannon said.

Dan and Shannon say they hope their story leads to a change in the provincial decision.

They say they’re running out of time in the face of Cole’s leukemia.

CHCH News asked the provincial health ministry for more information Monday on the decision not to fund Cole’s treatment but did not hear back.

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