Andrew "never out of gas" Papenfus
Donation protected
Hello friends!
Believe it or not my older brother, Tyler, and I am training for the SF Marathon on July 29th. I am still digesting the idea of running 26.2 miles as most of you who know me well are aware that I am not a runner. However, this is not about me but rather a real bad ass who is an inspiration to all of us everyday -my good friend Andrew “Pappy” Papenfus. He taught me a saying that I will for sure need during my run and it is; “you’re never outta gas.” His road has been a lot longer than my 26.2 miles and you can experience it first hand by reading his blog.
For the spark notes, on June 16th, 2014 Andrew was teaching Santa Clara Broncos’ youth basketball camp when his world was turned upside down. While demonstrating one of the drills Andrew collapsed followed by a seizure. While at the hospital Andrew had a CT scan and was delivered the news that he had a brain tumor and after a successful biopsy the pathology showed that he had a grade II Astrocytoma, which is a slow growing cancer. Few short months later Andrew had an awake brain surgery to remove the tumor with successful results. He had a “total gross resection”, meaning that they were able to remove all of the visible tumor so he wouldn’t need to follow-up with radiation and chemotherapy. And if you believe it or not, 4 months after his surgery he was back playing on the hardwood and was able to make it into the starting line-up for senior night.
His type of tumor is considered cancer because it invades the surrounding tissue and grows microscopic tentacles making it difficult to know if all the tumor has been removed. Because of this he has to have an MRI every 3 – 6 months to monitor and check for growth. About a year ago they noticed a spot that needed to be watched carefully because they noticed a slight change and didn’t know if it was scar tissue or tumor. Last March is when his UCSF team determined it was a small part of the tumor trying to make a comeback. With this news Andrew flew out to Boston as they are 1 of 14 institutions that have a proton radiation machine. After 6 weeks of intense treatment Andrew was able to make it home for the holidays. While the latest MRI’s have come back with positive results Andrew is still wrapping up his post radiation rounds of chemotherapy. With that being said there are still bills to be paid and future medical expenses that are a pretty penny. Let’s get together and help this amazing guy out! To donate for Tyler please do so on this GoFundMe. Thank you!!

Believe it or not my older brother, Tyler, and I am training for the SF Marathon on July 29th. I am still digesting the idea of running 26.2 miles as most of you who know me well are aware that I am not a runner. However, this is not about me but rather a real bad ass who is an inspiration to all of us everyday -my good friend Andrew “Pappy” Papenfus. He taught me a saying that I will for sure need during my run and it is; “you’re never outta gas.” His road has been a lot longer than my 26.2 miles and you can experience it first hand by reading his blog.
For the spark notes, on June 16th, 2014 Andrew was teaching Santa Clara Broncos’ youth basketball camp when his world was turned upside down. While demonstrating one of the drills Andrew collapsed followed by a seizure. While at the hospital Andrew had a CT scan and was delivered the news that he had a brain tumor and after a successful biopsy the pathology showed that he had a grade II Astrocytoma, which is a slow growing cancer. Few short months later Andrew had an awake brain surgery to remove the tumor with successful results. He had a “total gross resection”, meaning that they were able to remove all of the visible tumor so he wouldn’t need to follow-up with radiation and chemotherapy. And if you believe it or not, 4 months after his surgery he was back playing on the hardwood and was able to make it into the starting line-up for senior night.
His type of tumor is considered cancer because it invades the surrounding tissue and grows microscopic tentacles making it difficult to know if all the tumor has been removed. Because of this he has to have an MRI every 3 – 6 months to monitor and check for growth. About a year ago they noticed a spot that needed to be watched carefully because they noticed a slight change and didn’t know if it was scar tissue or tumor. Last March is when his UCSF team determined it was a small part of the tumor trying to make a comeback. With this news Andrew flew out to Boston as they are 1 of 14 institutions that have a proton radiation machine. After 6 weeks of intense treatment Andrew was able to make it home for the holidays. While the latest MRI’s have come back with positive results Andrew is still wrapping up his post radiation rounds of chemotherapy. With that being said there are still bills to be paid and future medical expenses that are a pretty penny. Let’s get together and help this amazing guy out! To donate for Tyler please do so on this GoFundMe. Thank you!!
Organizer and beneficiary
Daniel Doremus
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
Andrew Papenfus
Beneficiary