The time that I've had with the kids, we just keep extending it
In Manitoba, a 47-year-old man with terminal brain cancer has found unexpected renewal through a wearable medical device that his province will not cover — a gap that places the weight of survival squarely on family savings and community generosity. The story of Chico Colosimo is, in one sense, a medical story about glioblastoma and electric fields; in a deeper sense, it is an old and recurring story about the distance between what medicine can offer and what systems are willing to provide. British Columbia has already crossed that threshold. Manitoba is still deliberating — while the clock runs.
- A man who had lost his speech and mobility regained both within weeks of using Optune Gio, a Health Canada-approved device that disrupts cancer cell division through targeted electric fields.
- At $28,350 per month with no provincial coverage, the Colosimo family has burned through roughly $160,000 in GoFundMe donations — and the balance is shrinking faster than the review process is moving.
- Manitoba's health ministry says the device is undergoing its standard evaluation through CancerCare Manitoba, a process designed to be thorough but built for timelines that terminal patients simply do not have.
- British Columbia became the only province to cover Optune Gio in February 2026, creating a stark geographic inequity that advocates say should not determine who gets a chance at more time.
- The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is pressing for national access, arguing that where a patient lives should never be the deciding factor in whether they can try a treatment that might work.
Chico Colosimo was 47 when a seizure revealed a glioblastoma diagnosis — one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy offered little ground. By December 2025, he had lost his ability to speak and could barely move. His wife Shauna, a radiation therapist, kept searching.
She found the Optune Gio — a wearable device approved by Health Canada in 2022 that uses electric fields to disrupt and destroy cancer cells. Chico began using it in late December alongside a new medication. The recovery was gradual, then unmistakable. His tumor shrank. His speech returned. He walked a golf course with his son and had real conversations with his daughter. "We just keep extending it," he said of the time he now has with his family.
But that time costs $28,350 every month, and Manitoba does not cover it. The family has relied on out-of-pocket payments and a GoFundMe campaign that raised around $160,000 — funds that are running out. British Columbia began covering the device in February, the only province in Canada to do so, leaving families elsewhere to navigate the cost alone.
Manitoba's health minister says Optune Gio is moving through the province's standard review process. Shauna Colosimo and advocates from the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada say that process, however well-designed, moves on a timeline incompatible with terminal illness. Nicole Farrell, the foundation's CEO, put it plainly: no patient should have to live in a particular province to access a treatment that could give them more time.
For Chico, the argument is straightforward. The device gave him back his voice, his movement, and months with the people he loves. He wants other Manitobans facing the same diagnosis to have the same chance — without having to exhaust their savings or depend on strangers to afford it.
Chico Colosimo was 47 when a seizure in May 2025 sent him to the hospital and into a diagnosis that would reshape everything: glioblastoma, one of the most vicious forms of brain cancer. The disease doesn't yield easily to the standard weapons—radiation and chemotherapy barely slow it down. After surgery, after rounds of drugs, after months of treatment, his condition deteriorated. By early December, he had lost the ability to speak. He sat in a wheelchair, unable to move with any real control. "We had gone through all the drugs, all the treatments," he said later. "It was horrific."
His wife, Shauna, works as a radiation therapist. She began researching, searching for anything that might offer another path. She found the Optune Gio device—a wearable technology approved by Health Canada in 2022 that works by delivering electric fields to the tumor site, fields designed to disrupt cancer cell division and potentially destroy cells outright. In late December, Chico started a new medication alongside the device. Within weeks, the change was visible. "All of a sudden, I'm back on my feet," he said. "I can hear you. It wasn't instantaneous, but it was progressive." His tumor shrank. The swelling in his brain reduced. He could speak again. He could move.
For the first time in months, he had his life back—or something close to it. He sat down with his 13-year-old daughter and had actual conversations. He walked the golf course with his 15-year-old son. "The time that I've had with the kids and Shauna, we just keep extending it," he said. "We just keep doing whatever we can." The device had given him something no other treatment had: time with the people who mattered most.
But that time came with a price tag that few families could bear. The Optune Gio costs $28,350 per month. Manitoba does not cover it. British Columbia began covering the device in February, making it the only province in Canada to do so. The Colosimo family has been paying out of pocket. A GoFundMe campaign raised about $160,000 from family, friends, and community members who wanted to help. Shauna watched the balance dwindle, knowing that glioblastoma patients don't have years to wait for solutions. "These patients don't have a lot of time," she said, "and Optune can give them that time."
The family began pushing Manitoba's government to cover the device. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara responded that Optune Gio is "currently going through Manitoba's standard review process for new technologies," a process led by CancerCare Manitoba in which experts assess evidence, patient outcomes, and how treatments fit into the broader cancer-care system. It's a reasonable process—thorough, evidence-based, designed to protect public resources. But it operates on a timeline that doesn't match the urgency of terminal illness. "Sometimes things can be in the works for many, many, many years," Shauna said. "And unfortunately, we don't have that."
Nicole Farrell, CEO of the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, echoed the concern. Her organization wants every Canadian with glioblastoma to have access to treatments that might help them, not just those living in British Columbia. Farrell lost her own mother to a brain tumor. She knows the clock is always running. "We want to make sure that you don't have to be a resident of British Columbia if your particular case would benefit from this treatment," she said. The foundation acknowledges that Optune Gio won't help every patient the way it has helped Chico—but they argue that every patient deserves the chance to try.
For Chico Colosimo, the question is simple: if a treatment works, why wouldn't you fight to make it available? He has his voice back. He has his mobility. He has time with his family that he didn't think he would have. The device bought him that. Now he wants other Manitobans facing the same diagnosis to have the same opportunity—without having to drain their savings or depend on the generosity of strangers to afford it.
Notable Quotes
All of a sudden, I'm back on my feet. I can hear you. It wasn't instantaneous, but it was progressive.— Chico Colosimo, describing his recovery after starting the device
These patients don't have a lot of time, and Optune can give them that time. They can improve their quality of life, give them more time with their family.— Shauna Colosimo, Chico's wife
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When you say the device gave him his life back, what does that actually look like day to day?
He went from being unable to speak or move to having conversations with his kids again. His 13-year-old daughter—he could actually talk to her. That's not metaphorical. That's the difference between being present and being absent.
And the cost—$28,350 a month—that's not something a family just absorbs, is it?
No. They needed a GoFundMe. They raised $160,000, which sounds like a lot until you do the math: that's about five and a half months of treatment. For a man with terminal cancer, that's not a long runway.
Why is British Columbia covering it and Manitoba isn't?
British Columbia made the decision to cover it. Manitoba is still in a review process—the standard one, which is careful and evidence-based, but it moves on a timeline that doesn't match how fast glioblastoma kills people.
So the real tension is between doing things right and doing them fast enough?
Exactly. You need evidence. You need to know a treatment works and fits into the system. But when you're the patient, you don't have years for that process to finish. Chico's wife said it plainly: these patients don't have time to wait.
Does the device work for everyone with glioblastoma?
No. That's what makes this complicated. It's not a cure-all. But the people advocating for coverage say that shouldn't mean nobody gets access—it should mean everyone gets the chance to see if it works for them.