Hello, my name is Mike.

In the summer of 2021 I was told that I urgently needed to make a choice between treating my previously diagnosed cancer with radiation therapy or surgery and that if I didn't choose quickly, the option for radiation would no longer be available to me. The prostate cancer I had been diagnosed with a year earlier was determined to be a more aggressive form of the cancer than what is typical.

I was well healed from my last struggle with cancer and imagined I'd never face it again, but as many people know, cancer is rarely predictable and with current treatments, outcomes are equally uncertain. However, the doctors told me that with the stage of my cancer at that point, radiation, although minimally invasive, would provide the best chance of survival and a substantially similar quality of life afterwards.  The radiation would be a grueling schedule - daily, every day for six weeks.  I went with their advice and chose to proceed. I had the funds to weather the storm as it was projected be - 6 weeks of radiation and then a few months of recovery. There were risks, but they were presented to me as minimal, the worst of which very rarely happened - maybe one in 10,000. And they happenes with an older population. At 52, I was an excellent candidate. 

During the first week of treatment, I became very ill. I asked my oncologist during our Friday appointment each week if we should pause treatment until we could find out what was wrong, to which he responded, "everyone responds differently".

During my one month follow-up however, the oncologist had me sent by rescue to the hospital because I had faired so poorly during that time.  It was during that hospital visit that I was diagnosed with Severe C-Diff - a somewhat rare opportunistic infection that is usually fatal in 3-5 days without treatment. At that point, I'd survived the infection for three months.

Later testing would reveal that treating me with radiation while I had that infection had burned a hole in my colon terminating in an abcess and radiation damage to the surrounding tissue. To say that I was in pain would be an understatement, and the everpresent risk of sepsis was stressful.  I was referred to a surgeon who recommended I immediately undergo surgery for an ileostomy to prepare me for a series of surgeries to my colon to correct the problem. That was about a year ago.  I'll spare you the in-between then and now because what went on could fill a book.

Fast-forward to today. I had what I hope to be the last surgery last week and I'm recovering from that now. It was the most significant mentally and physically since it was the surgery during which they reversed my ileostomy and repaired my hernia. Life with a "temporary" ileostomy for what turned out to be an extended 8 month ordeal was very difficult.  And getting that bag off of my body, having my pieces and part's put back where they belong, and potentially having my life back when I'm healed in another month or so means I'm finally on the upswing.

Unfortunately, as a self employed real estate agent who hasn't closed on a property in 18 months, my funds didn't last quite as long as I have.  I had been bringing in small amounts of money by driving for Uber and even delivering packages for Amazon (against my doctor's advice, which herniated my ileostomy and made this recovery a bit longer). But during this final recovery, I'm unable to do that. Before, I could rely on a subsequent surgery to fix things that I broke (like the hernia) but at this point I have to follow doctor's orders. Partly because of the pain I'm in, but mostly because I can't afford to prolong my recovery. I need to get back to doing real estate.

Funds raised will help me pay my past-due Realtor Dues in MA and RI, pay medical bills that I've accumulated that insurance didn't cover, catch up on my utilities, and pay my living expenses for the next month to 6 weeks including keeping me in my home and my vehicle.

Every dollar helps and will go directly to paying these expenses. I'm not looking for a cushion - just to be even/up to date on bills, housing, etc. Raising this money will make the final stretch of my recovery possible both physically and mentally. Having the money to pay bills is probably the only thing I stress about more than the physical recovery - a place to live while I do it and the means by which to continue my career.  Thank you very much just for reading my story. If you can help, I appreciate you, if you aren't in a position to financially, I gladly accept prayers, too.

This is my second battle with cancer and I'm in the final stretch. The next time you see me I will be the picture of health!

Thank you!