'I dropped a kettlebell on my toe, now I need drastic cancer treatment'

A Brisbane father is hoping to raise more than $500,000 for potentially life-saving cancer treatment after he was told there was nothing left for him in Australia.

Joel Erickson

5 min read

September 20, 2023 - 4:29PM

Clinton Parker with his wife Caprice and daughter Isobel. Clinton is needing potential life-saving cancer treatment overseas. Picture: Supplied

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Father-of-one Clinton Parker was working out one day when he dropped a heavy kettlebell on his toe.

Little did he know it would be the small drop that would cause a massive ripple effect in his life.

Clinton, father to nine-year-old daughter Isobel, was diagnosed with a rare form of melanoma after doctors treating his toe spotted something sinister under his toenail, and he now needs to raise more than $500,000 to secure a place in trial treatments in either the United States or Israel.

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Clinton’s wife Caprice told Kidspot his battle started when his big toe didn’t heal after his exercise mishap.

“It bruised like you’d expect it to, and the nailbed had a crack, but he thought it’d heal itself,” she said.

“After two months it just wouldn’t heal, it just kept bleeding, so we saw a GP who told him to go to a surgeon to get it properly cleaned out and microstitched.

“When he had the done, the surgeon found something that looked suspicious under the nail bed, so he decided to take a little sample from that to be extra cautious, and it came back as a melanoma.”

Clinton Parker with his wife Caprice and daughter Isobel. Clinton is needing potential life-saving cancer treatment overseas. Picture: Supplied

"We went from a broken toenail to stage-four cancer"

Caprice said her husband’s cancer was a rare type of melanoma that’s not caused by the sun. It can be found under the nail bed or on the bottom of a person’s feet, and it’s often picked up too late due to this.

“Things started moving very quickly,” she told Kidspot.

“We were sent to an oncologist who said we’d have to amputate the toe, which they did, but they did a little biopsy of the lymph nodes in his ground and found it had travelled.

“A PET scan showed it was in his lungs. We went from a broken toenail problem to stage-four cancer so quickly, it was a real shock.”

"We thought we were winning, now we're told it's not working"

Clinton began immunotherapy, but a bad reaction to a certain type meant doctors were telling the family there was nothing else for him.

Fortunately, the family secured a new type of immunotherapy drug, which he had been taking for the past eight months, but a recent PET scan showed the cancer had spread to his lung, gallbladder, and bowel.

“We thought we were winning, but now we’re told it’s not working,” Caprice said.

“He was basically told he had incurable cancer, and there was nothing left for him in Australia.”

Clinton told Kidspot the family kicked into gear shortly after processing the shock of the recent news.

“We processed it, spoke to our daughter, and then had a discussion with our oncologist,” he said.

“She told us we could try TIL treatment. They were doing a trial in Australia, but I was excluded, so we could try it elsewhere.

“We did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that for someone with advanced cancer, this was an amazing treatment.

“We then realised we had to raise some of the money, so we got up in the morning last Sunday and said ‘if we’re going to do this, we’ve just got to put ourselves out there’.”

Clinton during one of his many cancer treatments. Picture: Supplied

"You wouldn't wish this on any child"

The family started a GoFundMe page to raise the funds, which has received more than $330,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

Clinton said he came up with the words on the page while he was taking a shower, “like all good thoughts”.

“I said I’d write something that, no matter what happens to me, my daughter will see I tried,” he said. “It was for her benefit more than anything, my drive was for her.

“You wouldn’t wish this on any child, and despite everything she is showing strength and a maturity and insight that is beyond her years.

“She’s challenging herself to be brave. I know some days it gets to her, but I think she’s learning that we’re people who try very hard, and I hope I’m showing her how hard I’m trying because I value and love her so much.”

The family is hoping to be in either the US or Israel by November to start Clinton's potentially life-saving treatment. Picture: Supplied

"I have to have this done soon"

TIL treatment, or tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte, is an experimental cell therapy that uses cells from the person’s immune system which are isolated and expanded to enhance their natural abilities to eliminate cancer.

Currently, Clinton’s opportunities are either at a hospital in Orlando, Florida, or a hospital in Israel.

However, it’s not cheap. Caprice said a fully private patient would be spending more than $1m for the treatment in the United States.

Clinton said he hoped to find out whether he’d been accepted in the coming weeks, and would like to be in the country of his treatment by November.

“I have to have this done soon,” he said. “The family will come with me, and we’ll take it as a great adventure, as a learning opportunity for Isobel, and we’ll have extended family who will come with us as a support team.

“I’ve read enough to know this treatment is relatively low risk, but it will be taxing on my body. I might not be able to do professional work anymore, but that’s a price we’re willing to pay.”

The family has raised more than $330,000 to help fund the potential TIL treatment. Picture: Supplied

Support has been "mindblowing"

Caprice said the family had been blown away by the amount of support they’d received from around the country.

“It’s been mindblowing,” she said. “It was a very scary decision to have a GoFundMe and put ourselves out there to ask for help, but it’s really been an amazingly positive experience.

“We’re lucky we have an amazing community of family and friends, and our colleagues have been amazing too.

“This is something really positive to show our daughter. She’s learning how amazing people are, and it’s good to show her that even out of something terrible, there are still so many people who want to help.”