Someone We Love Needs A Cure

Someone We Love Needs a Cure“When someone has cancer, the whole family and everyone who loves them does, too.” – Terri Clark On September 9th, 2017 our brother, Luke, called everyone for a family meeting. When a call like this is made, in the back of your mind, you always know that the news that’s about to be shared isn’t good, for us this was no exception. Here is his story:Luke went into the Emergency room on September 8th, having symptoms of a rash, chest pain, and breathing issues. Upon further testing they discovered a large mass in his chest. The vast size of this mass is what was causing these issues. With this knowledge, it was recommended that he seek help from medical physicians better equipped to handle this situation. With this recommendation he was taken over to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where he underwent further testing. The tests concluded our worst fears, the C word. CANCER, this is one of the scariest 6 letters words that a person can hear, it has the power to bring even the strongest person to their knees. At just 39 years old, a husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend is in for the fight of his life.His diagnosis is categorized as Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Stage 4; this is an aggressive type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. With his team of doctors it was decided that the best form of treatment was going to be chemotherapy. On September 25, 2017 with more determination, faith, and sheer desire to live our brother stepped up to fight. This marked the day of his first round of chemo. From here he would undergo his treatments every 3 weeks for a total of 6 rounds. After the 4th round of treatment, he underwent another PET scan to determine the progress that his chemo was making and it was with great joy that we were able to report that the chemo was doing its job. His tumor was originally classified as a size 7 and had been taken down to a 1.2 – 2. With this news, he was able to finish out his last 2 rounds of chemo. On Monday the 5th of February, he went in for his PET scan to see if the chemo had finished the job. Unfortunately the outcome wasn’t what we were expecting, the chemo although was able to shrink his tumor was not enough to kill it. His new scan showed that the cancer was still there and is continuing to grow. Now with the recommendation from his oncologist, the next step in his fight is a clinical trial. This trial will involve a new chemo with an experimental drug added to it. He will undergo a minimum of 2 rounds but up to 4. Along with these treatments, a stem cell transplant will also be necessary. It is our hope that these next steps are what will finally rid him of this disease. Luke has always worked hard, loved being part of the outdoors, and spending time with his family. Unfortunately with the treatments that Luke has been receiving not only has it affected his health, it has affected his ability to work. He has also needed care that has prevented his wife Hollie from being able to continue working full time. His health is the most important thing right now. But as we all know the rest of the world doesn’t stop even if your life is at a standstill. The various expenses have continued to add up and we are asking for your help. Every dollar means one less they have to worry about.We want to thank you for the taking the time to read Luke’s story and any help is appreciated. If you are able to give a donation to help with this cause or if you will pass on his story for others to read and share, nothing is too big or too small. In this battle of Man vs Cancer, no one can fight it alone.