Pioneering UK DJ battling cancer to travel for proton beam therapy thanks to his fans
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The DJ who pioneered the UK house scene has raised £30,000 for life-saving cancer treatment in just two days.
Nicky Holloway, one of the ‘Ibiza four, revealed his cancer diagnosis in an emotional appeal to fans as he ‘swallowed his pride’ and asked for help.
He was desperate for groundbreaking treatment at the Proton Therapy Center in Prague after discovering he had a cancerous tumour.
Inundated with support, he smashed his fundraising goal of £25,000 in just 48 hours. Londoner Nicky said: “I could not believe the response.”
Nicky travelled to the White Isle in 1987 and returned with the inspiration to transform the British club scene.
(Image: Ian Hughes)
With Paul Oakenfold, Johnny Walker and Danny Rampling, he formed the Ibiza four. Nicky told fans: “I’m trying to stay alive to annoy you all with my bad jokes, rubbish dress sense, arrogance and appalling taste in music.”
The diagnosis came by pure chance after a fall on holiday in Spain. A visit to his GP back home revealed abnormally high level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in his blood.
He said: “I wanted something for the pain in my ribs after I tripped on a paving stone.
“I had missed results of a blood test. They showed I had a really high PSA level of 13.”
Nicky had a tumour in his prostate surgery was needed to remove it. The prostate is a three cm long gland just below the bladder.
(Image: Ian Hughes)
It sits close to blood vessels which control bladder and sexual functions, making it an extremely delicate area of the body.
The disc jockey said he was concerned about side effects of the surgery, which include incontinence and loss of sexual function, so he started looking for treatments elsewhere.
He added: The only thing available in the UK almost guaranteed incontinence for a year and here is the biggie - no erections without injecting my wedding tackle or using some weird pump thing.
“I am in no way NHS bashing but sadly when it comes to the big C we are way behind the rest of Europe.”
Nicky visited the Prague clinic where Brit toddler Ashya King was treated for a brain tumour in 2014.
He is heading back to the Czech Republic this month for his course of five proton therapy ‘fractions’.
Proton therapy is a type of radiotherapy which uses an accelerated beam of positively-charged particles to attack cancerous cells. Unlike traditional radiotherapy using X-rays, it can pin-point exact areas to target, meaning less damage to surrounding tissue and fewer side effects.
(Image: Ian Hughes)
It is not suitable for all cancers, but can be used to treat prostate cancer, brain cancer, head and neck tumours, and cancer in the lungs, breasts, and liver.
Proton therapy is not available in the UK but the NHS is currently spending £250 million building proton centres in London and Manchester.
In the meantime, treatment can be sought overseas and in the last three years the NHS has spent £43 million sending 489 patients abroad - with the vast majority heading to America.
Nicky described the diagnosis as a wake up call after experiencing symptoms of the disease, which can include difficulty going to the the bathroom and pain, discomfort or bleeding when passing urine.
He plans to host a party in November to thank the 900 people who dug deep and made his trip possible. Donating to the cause, one follower wrote: ‘Thank you for providing a big part of my clubbing world, here’s a little something back. Get well soon.’