Fund for Stuart's Healing
Donation protected
My name is Stuart Scott, and though there are various ways to describe what I do, it would be most accurate to say that I am an eco-warrior fighting to protect and preserve humanity and life on Earth. To some I am an eco-social strategist, to others I am a passionate public speaker, and I am a memetic engineer to those who work with me closely.
I quit my day job in 2008 to devote myself full time to my mission, and go off to the annual UN climate negotiations. I've been an active participant in almost all of the annual COPs since then, culminating in producing a daily TV program there. The programs are available on a YouTube channel called FacingFuture.TV , and they are some of my most valuable contributions to the effort to wake humanity to the irreversible damage it is doing to itself and the Nature that sustains us. Please watch and share them.
I have worked in whatever way I could to revise the priorities of individuals and institutions for the sake of sustainability and responsibility.
Last year in the weeks leading up to COP-24, I developed a debilitating pain in the neck, shoulder and left arm. During the COP itself I was forced to take heavy painkillers to cope. Returning home, the initial diagnosis by X-ray called it 'cervical disk degeneration,' an age-related problem, so I plowed ahead with my work trying to mitigate the pain as best I could. That diagnosis would prove incorrect.
Three months later an MRI and bone scan revealed a new diagnosis. Below is the scan which shows the seriousness of the problem...
I quit my day job in 2008 to devote myself full time to my mission, and go off to the annual UN climate negotiations. I've been an active participant in almost all of the annual COPs since then, culminating in producing a daily TV program there. The programs are available on a YouTube channel called FacingFuture.TV , and they are some of my most valuable contributions to the effort to wake humanity to the irreversible damage it is doing to itself and the Nature that sustains us. Please watch and share them.
I have worked in whatever way I could to revise the priorities of individuals and institutions for the sake of sustainability and responsibility.
Last year in the weeks leading up to COP-24, I developed a debilitating pain in the neck, shoulder and left arm. During the COP itself I was forced to take heavy painkillers to cope. Returning home, the initial diagnosis by X-ray called it 'cervical disk degeneration,' an age-related problem, so I plowed ahead with my work trying to mitigate the pain as best I could. That diagnosis would prove incorrect.
Three months later an MRI and bone scan revealed a new diagnosis. Below is the scan which shows the seriousness of the problem...
...Stage 4 cancer, metastasized to the bone marrow of one of my cervical vertebra. The cancer is still classified as 'unknown origin,' though biopsy seems to suggest a cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) as the source. In the weeks since then, I have had more blood draws done than in the entire rest of my 7 decades of life. I am fortunate to have several doctors working with me from different angles, but that leads to almost daily appointments, conversations, tests, and such. I have also had to triage my climate and ecology-related work to a minimum, and to find coverage for my responsibilities to humanity and Life.
It's been a challenge to 'keep it together,' but also an opportunity for introspection about what past habits brought me to this state of disease. It's also been an opportunity to change my path in important ways. Compassion has become my priority, forgiveness to others and to myself. It has been a spiritual and ethical awakening of sorts. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
At present, I am undergoing radiation treatment to suppress the bone marrow cancer in my 6th cervical vertebra. Soon I will start chemotherapy. I am pursuing several 'adjutant' therapies as well, like an alkaline diet, Ayurvedic medicine, meditation, and others.
My only medical insurance is Medicare which has been a great help in mitigating costs. I am being treated at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu when I'm home, and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Travel and lodging costs on top of my part of tests, procedures and medications are a huge strain on my financial resources. Also travel and lodging a family member is required for me to be an outpatient at the Mayo Clinic. Medicare doesn't cover any of these costs. The advanced treatments at the Mayo Clinic have helped me beat the odds so far. I am told the average longevity of patients with my kind of cancer is 10 months. I am going on 3 years at the time of this writing (October 2020).
The associates with whom I have worked suggested we put together a crowdsourcing effort to help with these expenses. I have always resisted seeking donations for my work, but now it seems a good idea to ask for this help to try and extend my time here on Earth, which will be devoted to my continued efforts to preserve and protect Humanity and Life on Earth.
It's been a challenge to 'keep it together,' but also an opportunity for introspection about what past habits brought me to this state of disease. It's also been an opportunity to change my path in important ways. Compassion has become my priority, forgiveness to others and to myself. It has been a spiritual and ethical awakening of sorts. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
At present, I am undergoing radiation treatment to suppress the bone marrow cancer in my 6th cervical vertebra. Soon I will start chemotherapy. I am pursuing several 'adjutant' therapies as well, like an alkaline diet, Ayurvedic medicine, meditation, and others.
My only medical insurance is Medicare which has been a great help in mitigating costs. I am being treated at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu when I'm home, and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Travel and lodging costs on top of my part of tests, procedures and medications are a huge strain on my financial resources. Also travel and lodging a family member is required for me to be an outpatient at the Mayo Clinic. Medicare doesn't cover any of these costs. The advanced treatments at the Mayo Clinic have helped me beat the odds so far. I am told the average longevity of patients with my kind of cancer is 10 months. I am going on 3 years at the time of this writing (October 2020).
The associates with whom I have worked suggested we put together a crowdsourcing effort to help with these expenses. I have always resisted seeking donations for my work, but now it seems a good idea to ask for this help to try and extend my time here on Earth, which will be devoted to my continued efforts to preserve and protect Humanity and Life on Earth.
Organizer
Stuart Scott
Organizer
Honolulu, HI
