BREAKING: £50,000 target hit for Warwick student’s cancer treatment

A fundraising campaign for Alexander Paul, a Warwick student requiring treatment abroad for brain cancer, has reached its £50,000 target.

Alexander studied Politics and International Studies at Warwick, and needs to travel to a clinic in Germany for specialised treatment.

The Just Giving page was started by Alexander’s family and friends on 4 January, and has raised £50,000 in just 13 days – £45,000 raised in the past four days alone. Over 2600 people have donated to the page.

The money raised will also enable his mother to stay with him during his hyperthermia treatment, and provide extra nutritional support.

Alexander was diagnosed in early 2016 at the age of 20. He was put into a three-day coma following a major fit that led to his hospitalisation. After further medical investigation, he was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer.

Despite both chemotherapy and radiotherapy his condition continues to worsen. He experiences severe headaches daily and has begun to lose mobility in the left side of his body.

Alexander was an Ambassador to the University and was well known at Warwick for his widespread political activism on and off campus. He was consistently selected to sit on the Politics Open Day Question Time Panel with lecturers at the University.

Alexander also assisted Theresa May with her continued reforms on police stop and search tactics during an internship at the Home Office, and received a handwritten letter from her to visit Downing Street when she heard about his illness.

In 2014, Alexander gave a speech at the Tory Party Conference detailing his experiences of being stopped and searched more than 20 times before the age of 13, despite not having a criminal history.

Theresa May praised him as an “inspiration” for his comments on the ways stop and search policies can increase stigma around young black males.

Alexander has gained significant celebrity support towards his cancer treatment. These include social media responses from Towie’s Lauren Pope and the girl band Little Mix, who urged fans to “donate what you can” to Alexander’s cause.

Richard Adetunji, a third-year Economics student and Alexander’s housemate last year, commented: “Living with (Alex) meant that my thoughts are always challenged and my plans always supported. Nobody deserves to go through this, especially the driven, intelligent and talented individual that is Alexander Paul. We’re all praying and doing what we can to ensure he has as much chance to fulfill his dreams as the rest of us.”

Whilst Leye Kuteyi, also a third-year Economics student who lived with Alexander added: “The support so far during this campaign is just a testament to Alex’s great character as someone who constantly motivates others. Forever smiling, forever making noise and forever spreading wisdom!”

A fundraiser for Alex inspired by his commitment to the arts is set to take place at Warwick this Thursday. Zahrah Kazim, a second-year Classics student helping to arrange the event stated: “Alex is loved in Warwick and he consistently loves and encourages creativity so we would like to showcase how we continue to be inspired by him and raise money for him while doing so.”

Alexander’s JustGiving page can be found here.