Package thief steals child's $40,000 box of cancer medicine from doorstep
The family pays $40,000 each month for the medicine not covered by their insurance company
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A package thief was caught on camera making off with $40,000 of chemotherapy medication for a 14-year-old.
Gage Haynes was diagnosed with cancer at six-months old, and has been in some form of treatment ever since.
"I have Systemic Mastocytosis. It's a rare form of cancer and it’s just been happening my whole life, so I'm used to it. Now, we've finally found a way to help it. My whole life there's really been nothing,” he told a reporter at 10TV in Vegas.
The medicine that finally helped him costs $40,000 a month, and it isn’t covered by insurance. Instead his mother, Staci Shavinsky, used crowdsourcing to raise the money that would save her son.
"I worked really hard to try and get him that” Shavinsky told reporters. “I did some financial assistance because… it's not FDA approved for anybody under the age of 18.”
A photo released on February 12 shows a man wearing sunglasses, a red plaid shirt and a red baseball cap, making off with the packages that contained Haynes’ medicine.
Now Shavinsky and Haynes are working with the police and a pharmaceutical company in addition to calling for the thief to return the medication.
"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.
“You're not just taking a pair of pants or a shirt,” his mother reiterated. “You're taking something that's keeping someone alive.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments