A 14-year-old boy fighting cancer is asking for help from the public after porch pirates stole his $40,000 chemotherapy medicine from his Las Vegas home in a daytime robbery.
Gage Haynes has been battling a rare cancer type, mastocytosis since he was 6 months old.
“I have Systemic mastocytosis. It’s a rare form of cancer and its just been happening my whole life so I’m used to it,” said Haynes.
Recently, his mother has been paying out of pocket for a special type of drug known Ryedapt. It’s not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and it comes with risks but Gage’s mom is willing to do anything to help her son.
“I worked really hard to try and get him that. I did financial assistance because the medication costs $40,000 a month because it’s not FDA approved for anybody under the age of 18,” said Haynes’s mother, Stacey Shavinsky.
“I always tell him that this is our journey. We are on this road for a reason,” she said.
The drugs are usually shipped directly to their house and they have never had a problem until last week. “Now, we’ve finally found a way to help it. My whole life there’s really been nothing,” said Haynes.
The robbery directly impacts Haynes health as he needs these pills every day to keep his cancer at bay, according to Daily Mail UK.
Home surveillance cameras captured a man stealing the life-saving drugs off the family’s front porch in their Nevada home. The shocking theft left the family upset and worried. They are now appealing to the public.
“It really helps me out a lot. I would feel a lot better, so I can go to school, get good grades, get a good job, so just please return it,” said Haynes.
They want anyone with information on the man to come forward or to at least tell him to give the medicine back.
“You’re not just taking a pair of pants or a shirt, you’re taking something that is keeping someone alive,” said Shavinsky.
The family is now working with a pharmaceutical company to replace the missing drugs. Gage takes at least eight of these pills every day.
His mother hopes releasing the footage will help them get answers.
NTD News reporter Venus Upadhayaya contributed to this report.
