Why We’re Fundraising
We’re raising funds for two intertwined missions:
1. A Personal Battle — Tico’s Journey
Our son Tico was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2024 — a rare and aggressive pediatric bone cancer. He immediately underwent MAP chemotherapy (methotrexate, doxorubicin, and cisplatin). We knew right away that the protocol was outdated and toxic and the long-term success limited (way worse than in other childhood malignancies), but we also believed we would be the lucky ones where everything would run smoothly.
The reality of the toxicity soon hit us when Tico suffered methotrexate-induced neurotoxicity. He experienced epileptic seizures, and we decided to stop standard of care MAP to explore alternatives. We found a case of a boy successfully treated for osteosarcoma using IPT in Mexico. We managed to get the contact of the boy (now a healthy young man) and the mom. He had actually healed without surgery!
Unfortunately, due to limited access, systemic resistance, and time pressure, we were pushed back to conventional MAP in Switzerland. We decided to come back to Zurich, which we knew was closer to the « levers of power » and hoped to get more personalized treatment.
We got more of the same. Yesterday, in spite of the anti-epileptic medication he’s been on for months now, he got an epileptic seizure. This time the after-effects are still ongoing, with a paralysis of the left side of his body. The long-term adverse effects of methotrexate are hanging like a dark cloud on us, which are proven to be life-long: cognitive decline affecting memory, processing, etc.
We are still fighting for Tico’s full recovery, and it’s a race against time and dogma.
…and also:
2. A Systemic Problem — And a Chance to Change It
Tico’s case opened our eyes to a deeply entrenched system:
- Current osteosarcoma protocols haven’t significantly evolved in decades.
- New treatments are rare, fragmented, and often blocked by institutional inertia.
- Innovative approaches like metronomic therapy, adaptive therapy, IPT, and personalized immunotherapy are ignored or ridiculed despite promising case studies and mathematical models.
We believe this must change — and can change — now.
That’s why this fundraising campaign will also support a broader effort to:
- Launch a public awareness campaign, including a documentary that portrays real-world cases treated successfully with integrative or adaptive approaches.
- Build communication platforms (starting with a website and expanding to video storytelling and social media) to reach doctors, scientists, donors, and families.
- Fund outreach to researchers, modelers, and clinical teams willing to challenge the protocol-based monoculture and develop alternative or parallel systems.
- Sponsor scientific collaborations on topics like evolutionary oncology, real-time biomarkers (like ctDNA), and multi-agent adaptive therapies — the same strategies that revolutionized childhood leukemia treatment.
What the Funds Will Be Used For
Direct medical costs, travel, and experimental therapies for Tico
Research coordination, consultations, and medical second opinions
Legal and ethical support for accessing compassionate-use alternatives
Production of a short-form documentary and online content
Initial funding for an open platform connecting patients, clinicians, and researchers working on evidence-informed, personalized cancer care
Public pressure campaigns targeting institutions that perpetuate protocol over outcome
Why This Matters Beyond Tico
This is not just about our son. It’s about the hundreds of families every year who are told: “This is the only way. Follow the protocol — or go home.” We want to say: There is another way — and to show what that looks like.
How You Can Help
We are asking friends, family, colleagues, and forward-thinking supporters to help us:
- Donate, no matter how small — it counts.
- Connect us with like-minded doctors, scientists, media makers, or philanthropists.
- Share our message. The more voices, the louder the signal.