Help Dad with terminal cancer pay for treatment and retainer

My name is Bill Potthoff, I was diagnosed with terminal Neuroendocrine Cancer September of 2018, at that moment, I realized I was going to need to do three things. Reflect on my life, Accept my condition and Reject cancer in my body. My initial diagnosis was 1-3 years to live. I'm now in year 6 and fighting every day. My Faith, Family and Friends keep me motivated to fight every day. In March of 2024, Unum decided to cancel my Long-Term Disability after my last radiation treatment in November of 2023. As soon as my treatment was finished, they initiated their process of cancelling me. I was cancelled by Unum Insurance for my Long-Term Disability. It came without warning and with no time to prepare our finances to handle the loss of income. If you could share my story, I would appreciate it. They claimed I was not having any symptoms, and I was fine to go back to work. The problem is Fortune 500 companies will not hire someone with my condition. Please read my doctors letter next to the Unum denial of my appeal letter to understand my condition better. While I may look normal, when you look at my scans- you can see what is happening inside my body. I do not want to ask for money; however, I need medical care and have no other choice than to ask for financial assistance, to give a lawyer a retainer to start my case against Unum.

Here is what the money will be used for:

1) Create a legal defense fund so I can pay my lawyer versus give up 1/3 of my disability the rest of my life. Estimate $25,000.00

2) Purchase an experimental treatment that has helped several people with cancer. I personally know someone who used this treatment and her stage 4 Terminal Breast Cancer which had spread to her spine was cured and she is still living after being given 6 months initially to survive. She wrote a book just released in July 2024 named, The Year I Was Terminal. This treatment costs $299.00 for a 32 oz liquid bag. You should drink about 8 oz a day. That is 6 months of treatment 8 bags a month. Estimate $14,352.00

3) Pay continued health and educational expenses that are accruing on our credit cards, while we wait for the results of the case. We may have to wait 12 months until the case is settled in the legal system. Cost $50,000.00.

Total is $89,352.00

When you are told you have terminal cancer, life seems to go by in a flash. Every dream you wanted to accomplish seems like it will fade away. But it doesn't have to be that way. First you need to accept you have this disease and that you are going to fight with everything you have to overcome it and survive. I was doing that and for a few months I felt good after my last radiation. The treatment was doing what it was designed to do. Tap down my pain and slow the growth of any old or new tumors. But now I have to fight Unum instead of focusing 100% on my cancer fight on the disease. Now my attention is given to stress and fighting other battles than my cancer. It is unfair and disgusting that a pseudo doctor (my oncologist words) hired by Unum is saying I am fine, and I am perfectly normal. They even used Facebook and said, "You attended your daughter's dance recitals", as an excuse to say I was in great condition.

I am showing the pictures below, so you understand my condition and that I am telling the truth.

Where you see dark spots is cancer. Some larger areas are the actual dye used for contrast.

The glowing area in the liver is cancer.

The size of my tumor in my liver.

High-lighted spots are small tumors in lymph nodes.

Here are my thoughts on cancer; Cancer tests your character, your will to live, your ability to stay positive and smile. Staying positive can be hard, but it is necessary. You have to stay strong and focus on your treatment and surviving. What has helped me most is Faith, Family and Friends. Make sure you don't close yourself off to others. Embrace your fears and start to fight. Keep smiling no matter how you feel. It is hard to keep smiling with all of this happening, but knowing there are people who will share my story or help us out financially will help keep me positive during this fight.

I will continue to fight. I am going to expose Unum for the bad faith insurance company they have become. They have lost their way and will continue to do this to others who live longer than expected. What they are doing has to stop. If you know @rickmckenney President and CEO at Unum. Share this with him so he can see what his insurance company does to families.

I had to make the decision to accept that I had a condition that is incurable. But I will reject cancer in my body. I mentally fight it every day. I try to picture the cancer cells leaving my body. It is my own internal struggle against the disease. I reject cancer. I will never give up to cancer. I will fight and help others to fight to survive. I did not ask to be the person who exposes Unum for what they are doing to people with cancer, but I need help at this point. If you have ever had a bad experience with an insurance company, here is your chance to fight back.

When you have cancer, you need to make everyday count. Be positive, find a way to smile. Remember this, "Fate whispers to the warrior, you cannot handle the storm, the warrior whispers back, I AM THE STORM!" Live everyday like a warrior, because the day you were told you had cancer you became a warrior.

I found those words back in 2018. I have the will to live and survive. And I have accomplished those goals for the last 6 years. What I didn't realize is what cancer was going to take from my family and me financially. I went out on disability to focus on my disease. I used to travel 3-4 days a week and that would not be possible with my condition. Now Unum has taken away my ability to make ends meet. Cancer takes so much from a person and their family.

Cancer took my career that I loved, my collogues, my friendships with co-workers and clients, my savings, my 401k, my ability to make a good living. It takes and takes until you feel like there is nothing more to take. But it is always searching for one more thing to take away from you.

And then the one source of income you thought you could rely on is taken away as well. But cancer always finds another thing to take away. Like your dignity. To be put in this situation when I was the one who used to give to others, donate baskets for fund raisers and volunteer is so embarrassing to me.

Cancer also finds things to give you, a radio emblazon of my liver, where they surround the tumor with little radioactive beads. Or 4 radiation treatments, which I had in 2023. It also gave me 6 bowel obstructions in 5 years. This is when the tumors in my small intestine get enlarged and block my food from moving through my system. It is very painful and sometimes requires hospitalization. Hopefully, with my radiation treatments I will not have to be hospitalized again for several years. My last one was May of 2024. Luckly, I did not need to be hospitalized. And yes, Unum was told I just had one in May, but they did not care and still denied my claim.

Me during one of my bowel obstructions. The tube pulls everything out of your stomach. I hate that tube.

I took this picture after I was diagnosed with non-curable cancer. If you look in the middle at the bottom you can see a cross, (which is really a parking lot streetlight), but it became a symbol to me of who I would need to rely on for extra strength.

I had purchased this shirt in June of 2018, before my diagnosis. Little did I know that it would become my mantra for cancer.

This is a picture of me after I received the anointing of the sick in front of the entire student body of Chaminade College Prep. One of the best days of my life that Father Ralph Siefert gave to me. I miss you, Father Ralph!

I want to thank you for reading my story and if you decide to help, my family and I really appreciate it. You are bringing some hope to our family. I am trying different things to try and make enough to pay off our obligations, but cancer has taken away the one thing that kept us on track financially, my ability to continue my successful career in software sales.

I am a fighter and wake up every day ready to do battle with cancer. I hope you can find it in your heart to help a family that has found itself stuck in situation without many options. And if you cannot help financially, please share this post. Help me get the word out that Unum Insurance denies and cancels terminal cancer patients' disability with no justification. It's wrong and needs to stop before even more people find themselves in my same situation. Thank you for reading my story and for any support you can provide. Remember to never give up to cancer.