Arturo Barajas Cancer Treatment Fundraiser
Donation protected
We are devastated that Arturo has passed, but we are thankful he is no longer in pain. Thank you to everyone who supported him throughout his battle with cancer. The funds we raised will be used to pay medical expenses and funeral expenses.
Arturo is truly "One Coast." As a business owner for a top tourism publication and app, Arturo represents all that is good with the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He has highlighted all aspects of what makes the Gulf Coast great. While Mosaic is physically located in Jackson County, Arturo has business ventures beyond any county border.
Arturo is a true contributor to the community as he opened and manage Ocean Springs Plaza, a multiple concept venue with three unique themes Mosaic Tapas Restaurant & Bar and The Beer House American Pub. He founded and organized Mayfest “Music Festival of Art & Crafts” in 2007, which ran through 2014. In 2009, he developed and published Magnolia Leisure and Entertainment Guide, Mississippi Gulf Coast Directory placed in 10,000 hotel rooms and vacation condominiums. He developed and managed Magnolia Studio LLC DBA PlayTheCoast.com in 2011.
His leadership roles are extensive:
President of the Ocean Springs Hospitality Association, 2012-2014
Board of Directors the Village El Pueblo, 2010
Board of Directors Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association Gulf Coast Chapter, 2010-2017
Organizer of one of the top 4 events of the City of Ocean Springs 2007-2014
Board of directors Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, 2014-2018
Leadership Gulf Coast Board of Trustees, 2017
Ocean Springs Economic Development Council, 2017
Ocean Springs tourism Website, Developer and Administrator, 2014-2018
Leadership Gulf Coast Class of 2012, graduate
Top Ten Finalist in National Restaurant Association Faces of Diversity Awards 2012
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Graduate, 2016
Arturo has written about his fight with cancer. Please take a few moments to read it (below)
March, 2016
After a few months of noticing red marks in my stool I decided to go to the doctor, they sent me to do blood work and that night at work I used the bathroom and noticed a lot of blood, I returned to work but all I could see was my son’s face that was blurring my vision, so I realized that it was a signal and I left the restaurant in the bartender’s hands with a full house.
The ER doctor gave me some stool softeners, and verified that that it was in fact blood, sent me to do a X Ray and blood test thinking that it was some kind of colitis, and also referred me to do a colonoscopy.
The following Wednesday I did a colonoscopy and the first thing the doctor said to me was “ Arturo, you have cancer but we will take care of it,” and he left. Then the nurse walked in and gave me instructions to go to Merit Health Hospital to do CT Scan, Blood work, and some other analysis to have ready for the surgeon the very next week. The surgeon met me on Monday morning and scheduled the surgery on April the 23rd(my Birthday), the surgery was robotic to reduce healing time but the tumor was big and the operation lasted almost 7 hours. My mom, my best friend Butch, and my brother Gabriel were with me in the waiting room the whole time.
Since it was an abdominal surgery the wound developed a hernia that made me come back for a second surgery on May 5th ( Cinco de Mayo--a super busy day for the restaurant). I had to do a port surgery to prepare for chemo. The Oncologist set me for FolFox, a very strong chemo that I had to take every two weeks and keep for 3 days at a time. The side effects were vomiting ulcers in my mouth, nose, night sweats, fever, weight loss, and bone pain. I had a lot of reactions to the chemo and they had to adjust the rate and the doses. However, I did 12 sessions and the oncologist told me that I had no trace of cancer in my body at that point.
I met Rachel Hancock and became very good friends middle November. I went to Mexico to spend Christmas with family and had a great time.
2017
I went back to my normal life working at my three businesses, board meetings, and I was selected to be in the Masters Leadership Program, by the Gulf Coast Business Council. In March my colonoscopy follow up was due, and I found out the cancer was coming back in the same spot.
After so many conversations, research and a very deep introspection, I decided to go to Mexico City to see a holistic doctor who uses natural medicine, spiritual healing, and metaphysics. He was an oncologist but decided to a Masters in Natural Medicine after not seeing positive results with traditional treatments.
I started full swing with vegan diet, two specialty made juices, a tonic that is called Vital Tonic, a spider venom, alkaline water, meditation, exercise, etc. After the first session I felt so relieved, my soul was free, I was able to start working on myself and also started to sort out who cares and who does not care about me. I felt great but I did not see much improvement on my health, it just remained stable. But I remained on it towards the end of the year. And I was able to go back to play volleyball, eat well and gain weight.
A friend of mine suggested a clinic in Houston called the Burzynski Clinic, specializing in “Anti-neoplasm Therapy,” founded in 1970. So, Rachel and I headed to Houston. We came to realize that after so many years of fighting with the government to approve Dr. Burzynski’s treatment, he had been assigned someone to look over his shoulder. The funny thing was that before we even got to see the doctor, they made us meet the person in charge of the financials. The first consultation was $2,500 and the weekly treatment of pills only was $4,000—plus any other medications I needed. Finally, we met the doctor, then right after an oncologist walked in and while Dr. Burzynski suggested his treatment the oncologist contradicted him and suggested surgery, radiation and chemo. Dr. Burzynski got irritated and left the room, leaving us with the oncologist to continue to tell us what he wanted to do and that we probably needed to relocate to Houston for a while. We left and never went back.
2018
I found another clinic called Real Health Medical that a friend of mine recommended. I applied, and they accepted me in the university. This clinic has an in house nutritionist , lymph massages, hyperbaric Chamber, ozone therapy, low dose chemo, high dose vitamin C, mistletoe, in house physiologist, more supplements and CBD. It was expensive and very tiring. I had to go there once a month for a full day treatment, and they would send me infusions once a week, along with mistletoe every other week.
The results were not there either, so we continued to do research and watched a video that opens your eyes so much called “The truth about cancer the global quest.” We found the Biomedical Center in Tijuana, it looked very good to us so we made an appointment. It was a super nice place, with people from all over the world, and not as expensive as other treatments (but still expensive). We started their diet and full protocol, after 3 visits we realized that it was not giving us the results we were expecting.
My aunt found another clinic and we looked at it. They utilize genetic engineering philosophy that no cancer is the same, so no cancer should be treated with the same medication. I took a road trip to Zacatecas, Mexico this time, and purchased the full 6-month treatment. I came back and my birthday weekend I played another tournament in Destin, a little pain and constipation started to bother me so RacheI, myself, and both Kids had to rush to the ER. There they gave me a gallon of liquid to drink at home and told me to come back if it did not get better. We got back home on Sunday and by Wednesday I was back in the ER in excruciating pain. They tried several ways clear my bowel and ease the pain, but it looked like I was blocked so they decided to do a colostomy surgery. I spent 10 days in the hospital, the surgery was so painful that I had to take pain medication very often. I lost a ton of weight—I was 194lbs when I got there, and left the hospital at 128lbs. After weeks of recovery with the help of Rachel and my mother, I was feeling better. However, the orifice of the colostomy started to close after a few months and the doctor gave me a few test tubes to force them into the orifice to maintain it open.
Rachel and I got married on October 12th, 2018 and she immediately added me to her insurance, which is Blue Cross Blue Shield. That is when I started taking Opdivo, a immunotherapy that the doctor recommended until we were able to get the right medications suggested by my oncologist and my other doctors in Mexico. The insurance company wanted me to take radiation before I could take another noninvasive medication. That happens all the time, my oncologist has to go and fight for the medication because the insurance does not approve it unless we do something that hurts the body first.
After my insurance changed MD Anderson finally called me after I’d been trying to get an appointment for a year. We went there hoping that we were going to get other options or medical trials. After 2 days of tests we met with the doctor. He came in, said hello and the very first question he asked me was “Mr. Barajas tell me what are your plans for your cancer? What would you like to do with it?” I was in shock at that point and I simply could not answer. Rachel was the one who ended up answering the questions.
So we left and never went back.
2019
We started chemo with a round of Folfiri and it seemed to work well, lymph nodes dissipated, the pain went away, and I started to gain weight. After 1 1/2 months they ran a test and said the tumor and lesions had reduced by more than 50%.
We continued with the same treatment another 1 1/2 months, only to discover the cancer had gotten smart and grew back. The doctor switched my chemo to FolFox in June and requested an extra medication that helps the immune system, but it had not been approved by the FDA at that point. The FolFox is so strong I lost my weight again, hair, pain every day, and very poor quality of life.
We were sent info about another hospital in Mexico In Tijuana called CHIPSA, and to be honest this is the best hospital I have ever been to. My recovery time was fast because I was being given vitamins, good food, juices and the whole Gerson protocol. People from all over the world were there. This place was fantastic. I had 3 nurses, my own personal psychologist, my own personal oncologist, a hotel room for me and a companion, vegan buffet, and a full day of healing, group activities, etc. It is super expensive and insurance does not cover it, and it is a shame that I paid so much money and could not really take advantage of the full treatment because as soon as I got there they saw my ostomy surgery, and they said it was done very poorly, which meant I would have to have the surgery again. They were unable to continue the treatment because of the surgery, so I received half the actual cycle of treatment, after paying tens of thousands of dollars out of my own pocket.
I returned home in September and am back on chemo—FolFox. My next scan is in November. The chemo is very strong and the treatment is very painful. I am hopeful that I can raise enough money to return to CHIPSA and do their full treatment. Cancer is a rich people’s disease, sad to say.
Arturo is truly "One Coast." As a business owner for a top tourism publication and app, Arturo represents all that is good with the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He has highlighted all aspects of what makes the Gulf Coast great. While Mosaic is physically located in Jackson County, Arturo has business ventures beyond any county border.
Arturo is a true contributor to the community as he opened and manage Ocean Springs Plaza, a multiple concept venue with three unique themes Mosaic Tapas Restaurant & Bar and The Beer House American Pub. He founded and organized Mayfest “Music Festival of Art & Crafts” in 2007, which ran through 2014. In 2009, he developed and published Magnolia Leisure and Entertainment Guide, Mississippi Gulf Coast Directory placed in 10,000 hotel rooms and vacation condominiums. He developed and managed Magnolia Studio LLC DBA PlayTheCoast.com in 2011.
His leadership roles are extensive:
President of the Ocean Springs Hospitality Association, 2012-2014
Board of Directors the Village El Pueblo, 2010
Board of Directors Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association Gulf Coast Chapter, 2010-2017
Organizer of one of the top 4 events of the City of Ocean Springs 2007-2014
Board of directors Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, 2014-2018
Leadership Gulf Coast Board of Trustees, 2017
Ocean Springs Economic Development Council, 2017
Ocean Springs tourism Website, Developer and Administrator, 2014-2018
Leadership Gulf Coast Class of 2012, graduate
Top Ten Finalist in National Restaurant Association Faces of Diversity Awards 2012
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Graduate, 2016
Arturo has written about his fight with cancer. Please take a few moments to read it (below)
March, 2016
After a few months of noticing red marks in my stool I decided to go to the doctor, they sent me to do blood work and that night at work I used the bathroom and noticed a lot of blood, I returned to work but all I could see was my son’s face that was blurring my vision, so I realized that it was a signal and I left the restaurant in the bartender’s hands with a full house.
The ER doctor gave me some stool softeners, and verified that that it was in fact blood, sent me to do a X Ray and blood test thinking that it was some kind of colitis, and also referred me to do a colonoscopy.
The following Wednesday I did a colonoscopy and the first thing the doctor said to me was “ Arturo, you have cancer but we will take care of it,” and he left. Then the nurse walked in and gave me instructions to go to Merit Health Hospital to do CT Scan, Blood work, and some other analysis to have ready for the surgeon the very next week. The surgeon met me on Monday morning and scheduled the surgery on April the 23rd(my Birthday), the surgery was robotic to reduce healing time but the tumor was big and the operation lasted almost 7 hours. My mom, my best friend Butch, and my brother Gabriel were with me in the waiting room the whole time.
Since it was an abdominal surgery the wound developed a hernia that made me come back for a second surgery on May 5th ( Cinco de Mayo--a super busy day for the restaurant). I had to do a port surgery to prepare for chemo. The Oncologist set me for FolFox, a very strong chemo that I had to take every two weeks and keep for 3 days at a time. The side effects were vomiting ulcers in my mouth, nose, night sweats, fever, weight loss, and bone pain. I had a lot of reactions to the chemo and they had to adjust the rate and the doses. However, I did 12 sessions and the oncologist told me that I had no trace of cancer in my body at that point.
I met Rachel Hancock and became very good friends middle November. I went to Mexico to spend Christmas with family and had a great time.
2017
I went back to my normal life working at my three businesses, board meetings, and I was selected to be in the Masters Leadership Program, by the Gulf Coast Business Council. In March my colonoscopy follow up was due, and I found out the cancer was coming back in the same spot.
After so many conversations, research and a very deep introspection, I decided to go to Mexico City to see a holistic doctor who uses natural medicine, spiritual healing, and metaphysics. He was an oncologist but decided to a Masters in Natural Medicine after not seeing positive results with traditional treatments.
I started full swing with vegan diet, two specialty made juices, a tonic that is called Vital Tonic, a spider venom, alkaline water, meditation, exercise, etc. After the first session I felt so relieved, my soul was free, I was able to start working on myself and also started to sort out who cares and who does not care about me. I felt great but I did not see much improvement on my health, it just remained stable. But I remained on it towards the end of the year. And I was able to go back to play volleyball, eat well and gain weight.
A friend of mine suggested a clinic in Houston called the Burzynski Clinic, specializing in “Anti-neoplasm Therapy,” founded in 1970. So, Rachel and I headed to Houston. We came to realize that after so many years of fighting with the government to approve Dr. Burzynski’s treatment, he had been assigned someone to look over his shoulder. The funny thing was that before we even got to see the doctor, they made us meet the person in charge of the financials. The first consultation was $2,500 and the weekly treatment of pills only was $4,000—plus any other medications I needed. Finally, we met the doctor, then right after an oncologist walked in and while Dr. Burzynski suggested his treatment the oncologist contradicted him and suggested surgery, radiation and chemo. Dr. Burzynski got irritated and left the room, leaving us with the oncologist to continue to tell us what he wanted to do and that we probably needed to relocate to Houston for a while. We left and never went back.
2018
I found another clinic called Real Health Medical that a friend of mine recommended. I applied, and they accepted me in the university. This clinic has an in house nutritionist , lymph massages, hyperbaric Chamber, ozone therapy, low dose chemo, high dose vitamin C, mistletoe, in house physiologist, more supplements and CBD. It was expensive and very tiring. I had to go there once a month for a full day treatment, and they would send me infusions once a week, along with mistletoe every other week.
The results were not there either, so we continued to do research and watched a video that opens your eyes so much called “The truth about cancer the global quest.” We found the Biomedical Center in Tijuana, it looked very good to us so we made an appointment. It was a super nice place, with people from all over the world, and not as expensive as other treatments (but still expensive). We started their diet and full protocol, after 3 visits we realized that it was not giving us the results we were expecting.
My aunt found another clinic and we looked at it. They utilize genetic engineering philosophy that no cancer is the same, so no cancer should be treated with the same medication. I took a road trip to Zacatecas, Mexico this time, and purchased the full 6-month treatment. I came back and my birthday weekend I played another tournament in Destin, a little pain and constipation started to bother me so RacheI, myself, and both Kids had to rush to the ER. There they gave me a gallon of liquid to drink at home and told me to come back if it did not get better. We got back home on Sunday and by Wednesday I was back in the ER in excruciating pain. They tried several ways clear my bowel and ease the pain, but it looked like I was blocked so they decided to do a colostomy surgery. I spent 10 days in the hospital, the surgery was so painful that I had to take pain medication very often. I lost a ton of weight—I was 194lbs when I got there, and left the hospital at 128lbs. After weeks of recovery with the help of Rachel and my mother, I was feeling better. However, the orifice of the colostomy started to close after a few months and the doctor gave me a few test tubes to force them into the orifice to maintain it open.
Rachel and I got married on October 12th, 2018 and she immediately added me to her insurance, which is Blue Cross Blue Shield. That is when I started taking Opdivo, a immunotherapy that the doctor recommended until we were able to get the right medications suggested by my oncologist and my other doctors in Mexico. The insurance company wanted me to take radiation before I could take another noninvasive medication. That happens all the time, my oncologist has to go and fight for the medication because the insurance does not approve it unless we do something that hurts the body first.
After my insurance changed MD Anderson finally called me after I’d been trying to get an appointment for a year. We went there hoping that we were going to get other options or medical trials. After 2 days of tests we met with the doctor. He came in, said hello and the very first question he asked me was “Mr. Barajas tell me what are your plans for your cancer? What would you like to do with it?” I was in shock at that point and I simply could not answer. Rachel was the one who ended up answering the questions.
So we left and never went back.
2019
We started chemo with a round of Folfiri and it seemed to work well, lymph nodes dissipated, the pain went away, and I started to gain weight. After 1 1/2 months they ran a test and said the tumor and lesions had reduced by more than 50%.
We continued with the same treatment another 1 1/2 months, only to discover the cancer had gotten smart and grew back. The doctor switched my chemo to FolFox in June and requested an extra medication that helps the immune system, but it had not been approved by the FDA at that point. The FolFox is so strong I lost my weight again, hair, pain every day, and very poor quality of life.
We were sent info about another hospital in Mexico In Tijuana called CHIPSA, and to be honest this is the best hospital I have ever been to. My recovery time was fast because I was being given vitamins, good food, juices and the whole Gerson protocol. People from all over the world were there. This place was fantastic. I had 3 nurses, my own personal psychologist, my own personal oncologist, a hotel room for me and a companion, vegan buffet, and a full day of healing, group activities, etc. It is super expensive and insurance does not cover it, and it is a shame that I paid so much money and could not really take advantage of the full treatment because as soon as I got there they saw my ostomy surgery, and they said it was done very poorly, which meant I would have to have the surgery again. They were unable to continue the treatment because of the surgery, so I received half the actual cycle of treatment, after paying tens of thousands of dollars out of my own pocket.
I returned home in September and am back on chemo—FolFox. My next scan is in November. The chemo is very strong and the treatment is very painful. I am hopeful that I can raise enough money to return to CHIPSA and do their full treatment. Cancer is a rich people’s disease, sad to say.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ben Hunter
Organizer
Biloxi, MS
Rachel Hancock
Beneficiary