Andres CB Beats Cancer

This is Andres. Many of you might know him through his time at Bates College last year where he is an international student, from El Salvador, studying politics. You are probably familiar with his goofy, friendly, demeanor or the vibrant smile he likes to rock wherever he goes. You might be one of his teammates or have seen him in action as a debater for the prominent Brooks Quimby Debate Council. If you were a first year last year, chances are you were one of the majority to vote him in to serve as a Bates College Student Government Representative for the Class of 2019. Or maybe you recognize his name from being named a Dana Scholar at Bates, the highest honor bestowed on a Bates first year.
 
What you might not be so familiar with is the unfortunate news that he received in September of 2016.  Andres was diagnosed with T Cell Non Hodgkin Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. For a college kid with a life full of living ahead of him, this was hard news. He has had to take the year off from school. Andres is a strong kid though and after receiving treatment back home in El Salvador, his lymphocytes began to shrink down to normal size. I'll let his words explain the rest from there:

"Last September I was diagnosed with a T Cell Non  Hodgkin Lymphoblastic Lymphoma and I have been receiving chemotherapy back home. My doctor recently referred me to a doctor in the USA to have a PET scan and see how I was doing. We don't have the technology for the PET scan back home. The doctor in the USA told me that I should get treated in the US and that I will eventually need a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately I do not have American health insurance and I was told that the one provided by my college wouldn't be able to cover the treatment. As a result the costs of treating myself in the USA are almost impossible for me to cover. "

This leaves him in a tough spot. After incurring expenses from all the treatments he has already received, this leaves him and his family financially strained.  This is where we come in!

As friends and family of Andres or simply as someone who has heard about his story and is looking to help out, here is our chance.  Donating to this fund will 100% go to cover all of the medical expenses for Andres's further treatments. The goal is $300,000 because we wanted to give you all an idea of the estimated cost for him to get the bone marrow transplant in the U.S. Andres and his family are counting on us to raise as much as we can to help them get the treatment as soon as they can afford to. Please spread the word to help get our friend back and healthy and back into our community here at Bates.

Of his time at Bates, Andres has shared some words to all of us here:

"When I came to Bates I really felt a sense of community amongst us. The Bates community became my family away from home. Knowing that I could count on friends and fellow students helped me assimilate into a different culture and way of life. Studying, chatting and partying with you guys are amongst the most precious memories I have. I really miss being up there in the cold.

It is because of this bond I feel with Bates that I am humbly asking you if you could help me out to win this battle. Every penny is welcomed and appreciated and will for sure help me. If you guys know of some foundation I could contact please let me know.

I feel indebted to you already for sharing with me my freshmen year experience: one of the jolliest moments in my life.

I promise I'll pay your help forward in the future, striving for a better and fairer world, just as I know you all will. Thank you once again and God Bless you.  The journey is the reward."

Andres still has a long road ahead of him to recovery but we can help make it shorter. Let's work together to get him healthy and back into our community!