Brian Wlosinski's Medical Fund
Donation protected
This campaign is to help with medical expenses incurred by treatment for Brian Wlosinski. We thank you all for your generous donations and prayers during this difficult time.
On December 8th; after a few weeks of feeling sick, Brian decided to check himself into the ER at St. John Oakland (where he currently works). Our initial thought was that he had pneumonia, and after two days of IV antibiotics, he’d be on his way home. Unfortunately, that is not what happened.
Tuesday night we were informed that Brian had abnormal lesions within his liver, spleen, spine, hips, and lymph nodes. The initial though was that Brian had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and a lymph node biopsy was performed on Thursday, December 10th. The pathology report did not support the diagnosis of lymphoma, and on Friday, December 11th we were informed that Brian actually had an abnormal presentation of melanoma. Brian has been diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma. A type of cancer that typically starts at the skin, but has now spread within Brian’s body.
Brian worked as a lifeguard for nine years and had copious amounts of sun exposure. But YES he did get checked out periodically and has had suspicious moles removed in the past with no abnormal findings. So, in theory Brian has done everything correctly to stay off a diagnosis such as this…but nothing in life is ever certain.
The news has definitely been shocking, and not something that we could have ever expected to hear. But over the past week and a half, our families have rallied together and have provided Brian and I with unwavering support.
We are currently waiting for all testing to be finalized, and for Brian’s treatment to be underway. We have also put in a consultation request at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. This will provide the opportunity for a second pair of eyes to look over Brian’s diagnosis and testing that has already been performed. This way we can have the ability to give Brian the most cutting-edge treatment plan available to help him. This option was highly encouraged by the AMAZING medical team that has been set up for Brian at St. John Oakland/Macomb.
Treatment plans for Brian: Today’s treatment plans for patient’s diagnosed with metastatic melanoma are based on a new drug style, called immunotherapy. This is not chemo! Brian will not lose his hair, become immunosuppressed, and hopefully will not suffer harsh illness during treatment. Immunotherapy works with your body’s own immune system to un-camouflage cancer cells, and destroy them. The goal is to only kill the cancer, and not any healthy cells in your body. Once Brian’s testing is finalized, we will know which drug therapy he can start…and then we get started baby!!!
A WORD OF WARNING TO YOU ALL: Recent advances in melanoma treatment using immunotherapy have only been underway within the last 5 years. PLEASE DO NOT GOOGLE SEARCH METASTATIC MELANOMA unless it refers to current methodologies using immunotherapy treatment. An example of this is the recent successful news of former president Jimmy Carter. All information on melanoma treatment that is beyond 5 years old is considered OUTDATED. So save yourself the energy, and just don’t do it.
We will be updating everyone as often as we can during Brian’s journey of kicking cancer’s ass. And you can find information through both Facebook and caring bridge. We understand that this news is as much of a shock to all of you as it was to us back on December 8th. But rest assured, when we know something, you’ll know something.
We are sure that one of your main questions and concern are “Are we OK?” and Brian and I can truthfully say that this has been the hardest news we have ever had the displeasure of hearing, but we are both strong willed and determined to make it through this together. We are anxious to get treatment started and to get Brian back on his feet taking care of OTHER people for a living.
We are very grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful families and amazing friends, and we are proud to have you all with us as we make our way through this life changing experience. But also, we kindly ask for our sanity and privacy while we are making plans for Brian’s treatment. The best platforms for questions or even just comments will be through social media, and we will do our best to respond to you all in a timely manner. We are all happy to take calls, but Brian and I ask if you could please defer them to our parents and/or siblings for the time being.
We love you all,
Lindsey and Brian Wlosinski
On December 8th; after a few weeks of feeling sick, Brian decided to check himself into the ER at St. John Oakland (where he currently works). Our initial thought was that he had pneumonia, and after two days of IV antibiotics, he’d be on his way home. Unfortunately, that is not what happened.
Tuesday night we were informed that Brian had abnormal lesions within his liver, spleen, spine, hips, and lymph nodes. The initial though was that Brian had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and a lymph node biopsy was performed on Thursday, December 10th. The pathology report did not support the diagnosis of lymphoma, and on Friday, December 11th we were informed that Brian actually had an abnormal presentation of melanoma. Brian has been diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma. A type of cancer that typically starts at the skin, but has now spread within Brian’s body.
Brian worked as a lifeguard for nine years and had copious amounts of sun exposure. But YES he did get checked out periodically and has had suspicious moles removed in the past with no abnormal findings. So, in theory Brian has done everything correctly to stay off a diagnosis such as this…but nothing in life is ever certain.
The news has definitely been shocking, and not something that we could have ever expected to hear. But over the past week and a half, our families have rallied together and have provided Brian and I with unwavering support.
We are currently waiting for all testing to be finalized, and for Brian’s treatment to be underway. We have also put in a consultation request at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. This will provide the opportunity for a second pair of eyes to look over Brian’s diagnosis and testing that has already been performed. This way we can have the ability to give Brian the most cutting-edge treatment plan available to help him. This option was highly encouraged by the AMAZING medical team that has been set up for Brian at St. John Oakland/Macomb.
Treatment plans for Brian: Today’s treatment plans for patient’s diagnosed with metastatic melanoma are based on a new drug style, called immunotherapy. This is not chemo! Brian will not lose his hair, become immunosuppressed, and hopefully will not suffer harsh illness during treatment. Immunotherapy works with your body’s own immune system to un-camouflage cancer cells, and destroy them. The goal is to only kill the cancer, and not any healthy cells in your body. Once Brian’s testing is finalized, we will know which drug therapy he can start…and then we get started baby!!!
A WORD OF WARNING TO YOU ALL: Recent advances in melanoma treatment using immunotherapy have only been underway within the last 5 years. PLEASE DO NOT GOOGLE SEARCH METASTATIC MELANOMA unless it refers to current methodologies using immunotherapy treatment. An example of this is the recent successful news of former president Jimmy Carter. All information on melanoma treatment that is beyond 5 years old is considered OUTDATED. So save yourself the energy, and just don’t do it.
We will be updating everyone as often as we can during Brian’s journey of kicking cancer’s ass. And you can find information through both Facebook and caring bridge. We understand that this news is as much of a shock to all of you as it was to us back on December 8th. But rest assured, when we know something, you’ll know something.
We are sure that one of your main questions and concern are “Are we OK?” and Brian and I can truthfully say that this has been the hardest news we have ever had the displeasure of hearing, but we are both strong willed and determined to make it through this together. We are anxious to get treatment started and to get Brian back on his feet taking care of OTHER people for a living.
We are very grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful families and amazing friends, and we are proud to have you all with us as we make our way through this life changing experience. But also, we kindly ask for our sanity and privacy while we are making plans for Brian’s treatment. The best platforms for questions or even just comments will be through social media, and we will do our best to respond to you all in a timely manner. We are all happy to take calls, but Brian and I ask if you could please defer them to our parents and/or siblings for the time being.
We love you all,
Lindsey and Brian Wlosinski
Organizer and beneficiary
Kelly Aluia
Organizer
Utica, MI
Lindsey Wlosinski
Beneficiary