Tommy Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Update on 02-20-2023 Just celebrated 8 years in partial remission!!! Still feels like yesterday that I was diagnosed... Still praying for a cure!

Francis Thomas Grice Jr. goes by Tommy is 28 years old. he was born here in Portland, Oregon on September 12th 1986.

Tommy was normally a very hard working, motivated, team player. But something about him just wasn't right. He started experiencing symptoms but without Insurance couldn't afford to see a doctor to determine what was the matter. His work started to suffer and he eventually lost his job there. He had been living with his mother in Milwaukie Oregon and started to have more serious symptoms. Last Wednesday he was so weak that his mother took him to the emergency room at Providence Milwaukie. He wasn't there for long before he was given a very shocking preliminary diagnosis of Leukemia. They immediately moved by ambulance to the Providence cancer center in Portland where he has been ever since. There they performed a bone marrow biopsy on his hip and determined that he had the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The day after the bone marrow biopsy they started him on several types of chemotherapy (IV, Oral and Spinal), a Neutropenic diet and steroids to help boost the chemotherapy treatments and to give him some energy (along with dozens of other meds to counter the effects of the chemo and compromised immune system. He will be in the hospital until they can put the cancer into remission. This could be for 4-8 weeks or more.

~Today 2/4/2015 Tommy's doctor Dr. Godwin gave us an update. Tommy has a rare chromosome mutation of the cancer called "Philadelphia Chromosome Type Positive" The normal Chemo regement not work. This was another shock after he had been trying to deal with the initial diagnosis Especially because it can cause cardiac arrest... Fortunately just in the last two years there has been new drugs approved for the treatment of this mutation. So now they will add this drug to the multitude of different drugs they have him on already.

Tommy has no insurance but has applied for the Oregon health Plan and we assume/hope they will take care of most of the hospital costs. but this will be something that will have to be managed for the rest of his life.

In the meantime Tommy has no savings to pay for these things that he wishes and hopes to do. So we are asking that you donate to this cause so that he can afford to do some of these things when he goes into remission. Please give what you can or if you cant donate please pray for him and pass his gofundme.com link (shown at the botttom). Please know that Tommy will use the funds to pay for continued treatment since his cancer is basically uncurable and also things not covered such as especially Acupuncture and a gym membership. This will also allow him to visit some of the places he wishes to go while he still physically can. We are all praying for remission but also keep in mind that this will be a battle he will be fighting his whole life.

THANK YOU and Remember if you cant afford to donate you can always afford to pray for him!

You can also add me on Facebook  

www.facebook.com/FrancisGriceJr