Troye Sivan secretly donated thousands to help with a young gay man’s cancer treatment costs
By Will Stroude
A young British gay man given less than a 20% chance to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer has revealed that Troye Sivan secretly donated thousands of pounds to help cover his treatment costs.
Dean Eastmond, 21, was first diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma – a type soft bone tissue cancer that generally affects children and young people – just over a year ago, and has since seen his chances of survival slashed by doctors after several failed chemotherapy cycles.
The young writer has since used his own experiences to fight ongoing discrimination against LGBT in the healthcare system; documenting his fight against the disease in a popular online blog as well as the queer magazine he helped to found, HISKIND.
On Wednesday (July 26), it emerged that ‘Wild’ singer Sivan secretly donated thousands towards covering the cost of alternative therapies for Dean after learning of the young LGBT activist’s plight online.
Dean – who earlier this month was honoured with an Attitude Pride Award for his LGBT campaigning – revealed that the 22-year-old YouTuber contacted him online directly after he posted a series of tweets expressing his anxiety about starting a public fundraiser money to cover the costs of alternative therapies.
In his latest blog post for HISKIND, Dean revealed that Sivan messaged him “instantly” in private after discovering his plight.
“Troye… offered, there and then, to completely cover the cost of this alternative treatment, saving myself and my family from being financially crippled in the most difficult time of all of our lives,” he wrote.
“Within minutes, he had lived up to his offer and donated thousands in the blink of an eye (much to my awe, amazement and slight embarrassment) before popping off to sleep.
He added: “Troye might have just saved my life, you know.”
Dean went on to thank the South African-born star – who rose to fame on YouTube in 2012 before releasing his debut album Blue Neighbourhood in 2015 – for his genuine, unshowy display of generosity.
“Troye did this privately, quietly and without glory, much like the way so many young people with cancer suffer in silence while the world carries on,” Dean wrote.
“He did this to help, to genuinely make a difference to one stranger’s life, half way across the world.”
He continued: “So thank you Troye, for not only proving to me that kindness really does save lives, but for potentially giving me the one thing I want in this world; an escape rope out of this horrific disease.”
He added: “I know you didn’t do what you did for glory or appreciation, but this is the least I can do to say thank you.”
You can find out more about Dean Eastmond’s story below and in Attitude’s new August issue – out now. Buy in print, subscribe or download.
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