Hello everyone,

I am Erika Helmuth, and many of you know or know of my husband Brandon Helmuth. What some of you may not know, is that Brandon has been fighting stage 3 melanoma for over 2 years now.

Brandon grew up in the Ocean City, Maryland area and attended Stephen Decatur High School. He moved to California and lived there for over a decade, where we met. There are many people we have not seen in so long, especially since moving to Oregon from California 7 years ago. The support he receives from family and friends near and far is so valuable. The ability to reconnect with so many of you with or without financial support is priceless to both of us.

What is “Melanoma”?

Melanoma is the disease that most people think of when referring to the term "skin cancer". While this is partially true, there is so much more to it than that. Depending on the stage of the cancer progression, it can be much more serious than "just having a suspicious mole removed". It can spread like any other cancer and become an urgent medical condition in the same manner if not treated immediately. Brandon was diagnosed with Stage IIIB Melanoma in the Winter of 2020.

We have a little family with a dog and two cats. We all love each other very much and while we try our best to do everything we can, we simply cannot do it all alone. We appreciate you all so much for your support and empathy for our current situation. Thank you so much for all of your help.

Love,

Brandon and Erika Helmuth