Brian and Brooke Caster Cancer Fund
Donation protected
As you may know, in May 2020, Brian was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. By the time the cancer in his colon was discovered it had already spread to both lobes of his liver. His doctors immediately started him on the strongest chemotherapy available—sitting for treatments every other week for six months. Each treatment takes several hours, and thanks to COVID, Brooke has been unable to keep him company during the sessions.
It's been a rough road, but the treatment helped; the cancer in his colon began to shrink. Enough, in fact, that in early December, Brooke and Brian drove to Denver for an operation with a surgeon who is an expert in liver cancer. She removed the tumor in Brian's colon and took the parts of his colon that had been affected—achieving good margins in the operation. The surgeon removed his gallbladder and placed a pump into Brian's abdomen to deliver chemo directly to the liver. Brian spent a week in the hospital before they returned home to heal up and prepare for his next rounds of chemo.
(And, thanks to a surge of COVID patients, Brian spent the first several days of his post-surgery hospital stay without his own recovery room.)
The next stage of Brian's treatment involves trips to Denver every two weeks to inject targeted chemo through the pump in his liver. He will also receive a lower dose of systemic chemo twice a month. And for now, there is no definitive end to this treatment. He will continue until the tumors in his liver shrink enough to surgically remove what remains. His doctors are hopeful about this plan which has been shown to effectively shrink tumors and prevent the reoccurrence of cancer.
As soon as Brian started chemo, his ability to work was impacted. He maintained a part-time schedule for as long as he could, finally taking leave in July. While he remains on family leave—securing his health insurance plan—the family has been without that income for nearly six months. He finally received approval for long-term Social Security Disability in December which will provide much-needed help once payments begin in February. Friends and family have generously chipped in to help with monthly expenses—helping Brooke and Brian to remain in a stable financial situation.
Many expenses lie ahead, though: Brian's health insurance deductible has started over for 2021, they will be making trips every two weeks to Denver including transportation and lodging, and then there is the yet-to-be-determined liver surgery and its associated costs which will keep the family in Denver for at least a week while he recovers. These are just the costs we know; many more will come.
If you're here, you know Brooke and Brian do not want to ask for financial help. It's taken a lot of time to convince them to let me create this GoFundMe page. However, I believe it is important that we lean into this family to help in a time of true need.
I know how much they appreciate the help and generosity they have received, and they don't want to be a burden—especially during a pandemic that is affecting all of us in so many ways. But so many of their friends and loved ones have asked how to help, so please consider making a donation, and whether you can give or not, please share this page with others who may want to chip in.
Thank you so much for your support, love, and generosity! It literally means the world.
(Please note: Though I am the organizer, this GoFundMe is set up so that funds will go directly into Brooke and Brian's bank account.)
It's been a rough road, but the treatment helped; the cancer in his colon began to shrink. Enough, in fact, that in early December, Brooke and Brian drove to Denver for an operation with a surgeon who is an expert in liver cancer. She removed the tumor in Brian's colon and took the parts of his colon that had been affected—achieving good margins in the operation. The surgeon removed his gallbladder and placed a pump into Brian's abdomen to deliver chemo directly to the liver. Brian spent a week in the hospital before they returned home to heal up and prepare for his next rounds of chemo.
(And, thanks to a surge of COVID patients, Brian spent the first several days of his post-surgery hospital stay without his own recovery room.)
The next stage of Brian's treatment involves trips to Denver every two weeks to inject targeted chemo through the pump in his liver. He will also receive a lower dose of systemic chemo twice a month. And for now, there is no definitive end to this treatment. He will continue until the tumors in his liver shrink enough to surgically remove what remains. His doctors are hopeful about this plan which has been shown to effectively shrink tumors and prevent the reoccurrence of cancer.
As soon as Brian started chemo, his ability to work was impacted. He maintained a part-time schedule for as long as he could, finally taking leave in July. While he remains on family leave—securing his health insurance plan—the family has been without that income for nearly six months. He finally received approval for long-term Social Security Disability in December which will provide much-needed help once payments begin in February. Friends and family have generously chipped in to help with monthly expenses—helping Brooke and Brian to remain in a stable financial situation.
Many expenses lie ahead, though: Brian's health insurance deductible has started over for 2021, they will be making trips every two weeks to Denver including transportation and lodging, and then there is the yet-to-be-determined liver surgery and its associated costs which will keep the family in Denver for at least a week while he recovers. These are just the costs we know; many more will come.
If you're here, you know Brooke and Brian do not want to ask for financial help. It's taken a lot of time to convince them to let me create this GoFundMe page. However, I believe it is important that we lean into this family to help in a time of true need.
I know how much they appreciate the help and generosity they have received, and they don't want to be a burden—especially during a pandemic that is affecting all of us in so many ways. But so many of their friends and loved ones have asked how to help, so please consider making a donation, and whether you can give or not, please share this page with others who may want to chip in.
Thank you so much for your support, love, and generosity! It literally means the world.
(Please note: Though I am the organizer, this GoFundMe is set up so that funds will go directly into Brooke and Brian's bank account.)
Organizer and beneficiary
has not reviewed or approved this fundraiser.
Allison Blevins
Organizer
Grand Junction, CO
Brooke Caster
Beneficiary