Doug Zumach's Battle Fund

On December 31st, 2015, Doug Zumach went to the Emergency Room for a pain he’d been feeling in his lower abdomen. The pain has been getting progressively worse and he thought he might need to get it checked out before ringing in the New Year with his wife. He thought, worst case scenario, he’d be preparing to pass some good-sized kidney stones. Nothing water and a few choice words couldn’t flush out. Little did he know that later that afternoon, he’d be calling his children, his brother and even his mother to the hospital to share the news that he didn’t have kidney stones and the solution wouldn’t be a matter of “flushing”.  He was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer and there was a very real chance he only had a few weeks left to say “Good Bye” to a lifetime of loved ones. Not only was there a tumor on his kidney, but the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and was travelling to his blood and bones if it wasn’t there already. After two agonizing days in the hospital, Doug was sent home without so much as a fighting chance; the Doctor’s professional opinions’ were grim at best.  As family prepared flights and travel arrangements to be by his side, time stood still but was speeding by too quickly all at the same time.  All of us know we will eventually say “Good Bye” to our parents, but I wasn’t ready to bury my dad.

My father and his wife, Gail, qualified for grants to allow his participation in research treatment with a medication known as Votrient. Votrient is a potent and selective receptor inhibitor that blocks tumor growth and has been approved for renal cell carcinoma and soft tissue sarcoma by regulatory administrations worldwide. Side effects of the drug include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, changes in hair and skin pigmentation, hypertension, appetite loss, taste changes, fatigue, electrolyte and blood abnormalities, taste changes, rash, oral blisters, abdominal pain and potentially fatal liver damage. My dad has endured every single side effect and the health of his liver is still TBD. I remember him laughing at ads for drugs that caused more adverse side-effects than the original disorder. Prior to his diagnosis, he was one of the healthiest people I knew. Participating in Krav Maga, practicing a healthy diet and laughing every chance he gets. Maybe that is why, at 61, he is able to endure one of the most volatile medical treatments and is showing atypical progress! In April 2016, his lab reports noted the tumors around his lymph notes were completely eradicated!  This type of improvement wasn’t even an option for us a few short weeks ago.

Throughout his treatment plan, My dad and Gail have incurred medical fees that aren’t covered by the grant. Hospital stays, lab work and symptom managing medications all have been adding up. As a family, we are pulling together to mitigate where we can but haven’t been able to keep him worry-free. My dad has given so much in his life; not just fatherly support to his four children, but countless hours of community service building homes for needy families, ensuring less fortunate people were able to eat a Thanksgiving dinner, and making sure children who would not have a Christmas, get gifts.Now my dad needs to be able to focus on beating his cancer, not paying for treatment. This is the reason why we have decided to start a Go Fund Page for him. All proceeds will go directly to helping him. Again, any donation and size will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you and God Bless,

 

Erich