Help Joshua Lipana Fight Cancer

I’m sorry to report that Joshua died yesterday after a heroic, nine-month battle against cancer.

Although our efforts did not save him, they did lighten his burden as he fought this killer, and they let him know that he was loved by many, which made a huge difference to him in his final days. Thank you all for your generous contributions to his battle. You helped Joshua and his family not only financially but also spiritually.

As I wrote on my Facebook page, Joshua was barely at the beginning of what should have been a 60-year career and a long life, yet he had already accomplished more intellectually than most people do in a lifetime. I'm fortunate to have known him—and we're all fortunate to have his example to live by.

Live fully and boldly. That's what to take from this. That is Joshua's legacy.

**UPDATE**

I spoke with Joshua yesterday, and there is some good news. He’s has had three sessions of chemotherapy in the past several days, and his doctors say the treatments have killed a substantial amount of the leukemia. They are, however, concerned that a lot of the cancer is still “hiding” in Joshua’s bone marrow, so he will need many more treatments in the weeks to come.

The chemo he is currently receiving is a relatively mild formula because his heart is weak due to various complications over the past few weeks (pneumonia, edema, deep vein thrombosis, etc.). As his health with respect to those complications improves, his doctors will increase the strength of the chemo meds and hopefully kill all of the leukemia over time.

The cost for Joshua’s hospital stay and treatments since he checked into St. Luke’s has been about $2,400 per day. So, although we have raised about $18,000 since the cancer relapsed, that money has been spent and we need to raise much more.

If you’ve not yet donated to help Joshua fight leukemia, please consider making a donation today. If you’ve already donated, please consider contributing again. Even small donations help.

You can contribute via Joshua's GoFundMe campaign or PayPal or check. And if you donate $25 or more and would like some cookies for your generosity, just let Brittney and Ashley know, and they’ll send you a box of their homemade goodies ( http://on.fb.me/114fZ0V).

Thank you for your consideration. —Craig Biddle

**UPDATE**

Although Joshua is in a better hospital and under the care of U.S.-trained doctors, his condition is worsening. His diagnosis has been adjusted from lymphoma to leukemia, specifically, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) ( http://bit.ly/bfrB7); he has severe edema ( http://bit.ly/IRSKq) and deep vein thrombosis ( http://bit.ly/TgwEK); and he is now in the coronary care unit because of possible heart failure associated with the above complications.

ALL has been beaten, and Joshua’s MO is, of course, “Nothing Less than Victory.” But beating this wretched thing is going to be a long, torturous, and expensive ordeal; and, to do it, Joshua is going to need a lot of spiritual support and financial assistance.

Please show your support for Joshua by letting him know that your thoughts are with him; you can leave him a note on his Facebook page. And please make a donation or an additional donation to help defray the astronomical costs of fighting and hopefully beating leukemia.

You can donate via Joshua's GoFundMe campaign ( http://bit.ly/PrQ2zp) or PayPal or check. And if you donate $25 or more and would like some cookies for your generosity, just let Brittney and Ashley know, and they’ll send you a box of their homemade goodies ( http://on.fb.me/114fZ0V).

Thank you for your consideration. —Craig Biddle