Donations for Dave
Donation protected
Well, to start, I'm Caitlyn and I'm actually doing this for my brother, Dave. He is 32 years old (recently, as his bday was Oct 13) and from Pittsburgh, Pa. He works at Home Depot as a floor supervisor and is a father of two young kids; an almost 3yr old boy and 6yr old girl.
As some of you may, or may not know, my brother was just very recently diagnosed with Stage IV Colorectal cancer. So pretty much what that means is he currently has a tumor in his rectum/colon that has actually metastisized (spread) to his liver. All the doctors are surprised at this diagnosis seeing as he's pretty young to have this type of cancer.
It all started with some abdominal pains, then some change in bowel habits. He was in the ER numerous times and they told him he had a "blockage" but no one did anything since he had no insurance. He was supposed to have a colonoscopy done and again, they wouldn't do it. Finally, I took him to the ER at UPMC Passavant one morning and they re-did a CT Scan. On the films they seen the tumor and also two spots on his liver. The drs wanted him to have a colonoscopy done the next day so they could biopsy the tumor. The only "true" way to know what we had already known, that it was cancer. He was admitted over night and had the procedure the following day before being discharged.
Two weeks later, after trying to get a certain xray, the radiologist performing the xray confirmed the diagnosis of cancer. We all had pretty much prepared ourselves for this, but hearing the words and knowing for sure, hit him and the entire family. WHO would have thought at 31/32 he would have colorectal cancer? It just seemed unreal.
He was seen by his PCP and ordered a MRI to follow up on the spots on his liver and also set up with Oncology. After seeing oncology, he was told the game plan. Depending on the MRI results, which later came back as liver metastases, that he would need to begin chemo. He will be doing 46hrs straight of chemotherapy every 2 weeks for 2 months. Then will be scanned, and see if the chemo is helping to shrink the tumor. Hopefully, if the chemo works, he should have the tumor removed and also meet with a liver surgeon to determine removal of the liver metastases.
As of now, Dave's just waiting to start his chemotherapy and get this out of his body. No matter how terrible he feels and everything going on, he still is remaining positive. He has a lot of strength and fight in him so I know he'll pull through this. In the mean time, since he is currently unable to work, trying to pay bills and take care of the kids is financially tough. He hasn't worked in over a month already.
We are not asking for anything over the top, but anything helps. He is currently waiting for disability but even that won't help pay all the bills. It would mean so much to him and my entire family if you could help out. Any amount is much appreciated. And please keep my brother, as well as my family in your thoughts/prayers. He has a long road ahead of him and a lot of people in his corner.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and making a donation. You will never understand how much this means.
As some of you may, or may not know, my brother was just very recently diagnosed with Stage IV Colorectal cancer. So pretty much what that means is he currently has a tumor in his rectum/colon that has actually metastisized (spread) to his liver. All the doctors are surprised at this diagnosis seeing as he's pretty young to have this type of cancer.
It all started with some abdominal pains, then some change in bowel habits. He was in the ER numerous times and they told him he had a "blockage" but no one did anything since he had no insurance. He was supposed to have a colonoscopy done and again, they wouldn't do it. Finally, I took him to the ER at UPMC Passavant one morning and they re-did a CT Scan. On the films they seen the tumor and also two spots on his liver. The drs wanted him to have a colonoscopy done the next day so they could biopsy the tumor. The only "true" way to know what we had already known, that it was cancer. He was admitted over night and had the procedure the following day before being discharged.
Two weeks later, after trying to get a certain xray, the radiologist performing the xray confirmed the diagnosis of cancer. We all had pretty much prepared ourselves for this, but hearing the words and knowing for sure, hit him and the entire family. WHO would have thought at 31/32 he would have colorectal cancer? It just seemed unreal.
He was seen by his PCP and ordered a MRI to follow up on the spots on his liver and also set up with Oncology. After seeing oncology, he was told the game plan. Depending on the MRI results, which later came back as liver metastases, that he would need to begin chemo. He will be doing 46hrs straight of chemotherapy every 2 weeks for 2 months. Then will be scanned, and see if the chemo is helping to shrink the tumor. Hopefully, if the chemo works, he should have the tumor removed and also meet with a liver surgeon to determine removal of the liver metastases.
As of now, Dave's just waiting to start his chemotherapy and get this out of his body. No matter how terrible he feels and everything going on, he still is remaining positive. He has a lot of strength and fight in him so I know he'll pull through this. In the mean time, since he is currently unable to work, trying to pay bills and take care of the kids is financially tough. He hasn't worked in over a month already.
We are not asking for anything over the top, but anything helps. He is currently waiting for disability but even that won't help pay all the bills. It would mean so much to him and my entire family if you could help out. Any amount is much appreciated. And please keep my brother, as well as my family in your thoughts/prayers. He has a long road ahead of him and a lot of people in his corner.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and making a donation. You will never understand how much this means.
Organizer
Cait Mack
Organizer
Pittsburgh, PA
