The family of a former Ottawa Rough Rider is raising money to help send him to Germany for cancer treatment.
Rick Sowieta was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last February.
According to a fundraiser that has been launched on youcaring.com, Sowieta is heading to Germany next month for a treatment called NanoKnife, which is not funded by OHIP.
The treatment is considered experimental in Canada, and people seeking the surgery have been denied requests for funding in the past.
The procedure made headlines last fall when Trent Hills, Ontario Mayor Hector Macmillan underwent a successful NanoKnife treatment in Germany.
The fundraiser is seeking $65,000, and has raised more than $10,000 already.
Sowieta played for the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1979 to 1986 and is a three-time CFL East All Star.
CORRECTION NOTE: A previous version of this story had mistakenly said Sowieta had been personally denied a funding request. The text on the fundraiser page was speaking in generalities about other patients in the past.