“Let’s Fight for Gus” / “Vamos Lutar pelo Gus”

Augusto “Gus” Rafael, son of Madeira, husband to the late Yvonne, father, grandfather, founder of Vasco Engineering, and a familiar face in Cape Town’s Portuguese community — needs our help. An altar boy at St Agnes. A boy who lost his own father far too young. A well-known figure on the soccer field in his youth. All his life, a man of action — the one who rolled up his sleeves while others talked, who showed up for everyone else. Now, for the first time, Gus is the one who needs us, and that is hard to write, because he has never asked anyone for anything. Early this year he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He has fought like a lion, 3 times sepsis nearly took him, 3 times he clawed back, still cracking jokes, still keeping his dignity. He has already buried his beloved Yvonne. And still he wants to live — for his family. There is real hope, and it has a name. His tumour carries a specific mutation, KRAS G12V, and a medicine just approved by the FDA targets it exactly: daraxonrasib (Rasonque). Not chemotherapy — a targeted therapy that strikes the exact gene...