Chris is a fun, loving, caring man who loves everything about being outdoors. He would do anything, for anyone, at any given time.
He is currently battling a rare form of cancer (GIST). Due to its rarity, there is no known cure. Doctors would like to start him on a 36 month treatment, the financial burden on the family for such a lengthy amount of time will be, enormous. Please, help us, help him and his family.
HERES HIS FULL STORY:
January 25, 2016 - Chris started having abdominal pains while at work. As the day went on, the pains worsened, he was doubled over in pain by the middle of the night. His father, Mike, took him to the emergency room. He was given a CT scan and doctors told the family they saw a colon mass, Chris needed to be admitted. During his 4 day stay at the hospital, Chris ran fevers with continued abdominal pain and tachy heart rates. During his admission he underwent a series of tests. He was given a CT scan of his abdomen and pelvis, a full abdominal series including; an ultrasound of his abdomen and a full bowel series. The GI was consulted and had suspected Chrones disease. At this time, an EGD and colonoscopy was done with a biopsy on his 25th birthday, January 29th. The tests for Chrones disease came back negative. The doctors were asked about the mass that showed up on the CT scan and had claimed it to be a shadow. He was treated with flagyl and antibiotics and discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of acute Colitis. He started feeling better shortly after his visit and went back to work.
May 21, 2016 - Chris started with severe abdominal pain again and this time, his fevers were running as high as 104 degrees. The fevers continued throughout the weekend and his abdominal pains were not subsiding. He was reluctant to go back to the hospital because they found nothing wrong with him in January.
May 24, 2016 - Mike and Chris's mother, Lisa, took him back to the ER. They requested another CT scan. Chris and his family were told he had a 7.6cm abcess on his intestine and it had perforated, he was admitted immediately. A surgeon informed him and his family that he needed surgery right away, they treated him with antibiotics and scheduled him for surgery on May 26th. The prior GI fought the surgery and tried to talk Chris out of it, he continued to tell Chris he had Chrones disease. He went as far as telling him that if he had the surgery he would end up with an ileostomy bag and would be dead by the time he was 30 years old. The surgeon informed his family that even if it was Chrones disease, he needed to have the surgery due to the abcess and that they were seeing an abdominal mass. He pulled up tests from January and compared them to new scans and the mass was definitely there.
May 26, 2016 - Chris had an exploratory Laparotomy. His surgery revealed a 12.5 cm tumor at the distal end of his small intestine, it had grown and attached to his bladder. The tumor was removed, his small intestine was resected and the walls of his bladder were shaved to remove the tumor. The tumor was sent to pathology and the report came back positive for GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor) a rare intestinal cancer. His Gist was staged as a High Grade Gist with high mitotic features. This means that it has the tendency to grow rapidly, recur and needs a minimum 36 month treatment. The path report also revealed that the gist has metastisized to his omentum which is a fatty layer that covers and protects the intestines. Chris and his family have met with a local oncologist only to find out that the cancer is so rare and he has only treated about 30 of these cases in his career. Chris was referred to Moffitt Cancer institute to be seen by an oncologist that specializes in GIST Cancer.
He is currently battling a rare form of cancer (GIST). Due to its rarity, there is no known cure. Doctors would like to start him on a 36 month treatment, the financial burden on the family for such a lengthy amount of time will be, enormous. Please, help us, help him and his family.
HERES HIS FULL STORY:
January 25, 2016 - Chris started having abdominal pains while at work. As the day went on, the pains worsened, he was doubled over in pain by the middle of the night. His father, Mike, took him to the emergency room. He was given a CT scan and doctors told the family they saw a colon mass, Chris needed to be admitted. During his 4 day stay at the hospital, Chris ran fevers with continued abdominal pain and tachy heart rates. During his admission he underwent a series of tests. He was given a CT scan of his abdomen and pelvis, a full abdominal series including; an ultrasound of his abdomen and a full bowel series. The GI was consulted and had suspected Chrones disease. At this time, an EGD and colonoscopy was done with a biopsy on his 25th birthday, January 29th. The tests for Chrones disease came back negative. The doctors were asked about the mass that showed up on the CT scan and had claimed it to be a shadow. He was treated with flagyl and antibiotics and discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of acute Colitis. He started feeling better shortly after his visit and went back to work.
May 21, 2016 - Chris started with severe abdominal pain again and this time, his fevers were running as high as 104 degrees. The fevers continued throughout the weekend and his abdominal pains were not subsiding. He was reluctant to go back to the hospital because they found nothing wrong with him in January.
May 24, 2016 - Mike and Chris's mother, Lisa, took him back to the ER. They requested another CT scan. Chris and his family were told he had a 7.6cm abcess on his intestine and it had perforated, he was admitted immediately. A surgeon informed him and his family that he needed surgery right away, they treated him with antibiotics and scheduled him for surgery on May 26th. The prior GI fought the surgery and tried to talk Chris out of it, he continued to tell Chris he had Chrones disease. He went as far as telling him that if he had the surgery he would end up with an ileostomy bag and would be dead by the time he was 30 years old. The surgeon informed his family that even if it was Chrones disease, he needed to have the surgery due to the abcess and that they were seeing an abdominal mass. He pulled up tests from January and compared them to new scans and the mass was definitely there.
May 26, 2016 - Chris had an exploratory Laparotomy. His surgery revealed a 12.5 cm tumor at the distal end of his small intestine, it had grown and attached to his bladder. The tumor was removed, his small intestine was resected and the walls of his bladder were shaved to remove the tumor. The tumor was sent to pathology and the report came back positive for GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor) a rare intestinal cancer. His Gist was staged as a High Grade Gist with high mitotic features. This means that it has the tendency to grow rapidly, recur and needs a minimum 36 month treatment. The path report also revealed that the gist has metastisized to his omentum which is a fatty layer that covers and protects the intestines. Chris and his family have met with a local oncologist only to find out that the cancer is so rare and he has only treated about 30 of these cases in his career. Chris was referred to Moffitt Cancer institute to be seen by an oncologist that specializes in GIST Cancer.
Organizer and beneficiary
Christopher Donofrio
Beneficiary