Our father, Michael, was diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer in early October of 2019 at the young age of 56. For anyone that knows him, he is non-stop working and lending a hand to friends/family when he can. The diagnosis came as a hard blow to our entire family who, like many others, thought it could “never happen to us”. Luckily, the rare and aggressive cancer was found early and his doctors are optimistic that he can win this fight. Michael just finished his 3rd round of chemotherapy on December 18th and will be going in for his fourth (and hopefully last) round on January 6th. In addition to 3 days straight of approximately 7 hours of chemotherapy where he receives Etoposide and Cisplatin medications, he has consistently been receiving radiation 5 days a week, every week since late October.
As mentioned above, our Dad is the epitome of a hard worker; he would usually work 70 hrs, 6 days a week for the last 20+ years. Michael is a blue collar man who has been a Plumber for what feels like a million years down in the 5 boroughs of New York City. His job is much more physical than you may imagine, which means he has not been able to work consistently since he began treatments. At work, there was no job he would turn down in an effort to help the company be successful. At home, he is always ready to run to a friend or family member’s home to repair or install something; he doesn’t know how to take a few days off until he has been forced to.
Michael is a private person who has a very hard time asking for any ones help; however, my sister and I are aware of his current financial situation given his circumstances and know that he is in need of help. In addition to his typical bills which include a mortgage, car payment, insurance and etc. he now has the additional costs of Chemotherapy, Radiation, CT Scans, PET Scans, surgery for an Implanted Port and countless doctors’ appointments. The implanted port procedure was over $1000 alone; one PET Scan was $1600 (with another scan coming in February) along with a co-pay of $50 every time he sees one of his specialists. Michael’s current healthcare providers will no longer be seeing patients who do not pay their co-pay at the time of their visits, which is a new, added concern.
We know the holidays are here and now is sometimes a difficult time to find an extra dollar or two to give away, but we would love for our father to continue his treatments and still have a roof over his head in the new year. Michael is also anticipating the arrival of his first grandchild in January and wants to be healthy for his new role. If you are in a space where you are able to make a donation, please consider it!
As mentioned above, our Dad is the epitome of a hard worker; he would usually work 70 hrs, 6 days a week for the last 20+ years. Michael is a blue collar man who has been a Plumber for what feels like a million years down in the 5 boroughs of New York City. His job is much more physical than you may imagine, which means he has not been able to work consistently since he began treatments. At work, there was no job he would turn down in an effort to help the company be successful. At home, he is always ready to run to a friend or family member’s home to repair or install something; he doesn’t know how to take a few days off until he has been forced to.
Michael is a private person who has a very hard time asking for any ones help; however, my sister and I are aware of his current financial situation given his circumstances and know that he is in need of help. In addition to his typical bills which include a mortgage, car payment, insurance and etc. he now has the additional costs of Chemotherapy, Radiation, CT Scans, PET Scans, surgery for an Implanted Port and countless doctors’ appointments. The implanted port procedure was over $1000 alone; one PET Scan was $1600 (with another scan coming in February) along with a co-pay of $50 every time he sees one of his specialists. Michael’s current healthcare providers will no longer be seeing patients who do not pay their co-pay at the time of their visits, which is a new, added concern.
We know the holidays are here and now is sometimes a difficult time to find an extra dollar or two to give away, but we would love for our father to continue his treatments and still have a roof over his head in the new year. Michael is also anticipating the arrival of his first grandchild in January and wants to be healthy for his new role. If you are in a space where you are able to make a donation, please consider it!
Organizer
Jennifer Patti
Organizer
Chester, NY