Destroying Malignant Tumor in Brett
Donation protected
Updated 2/23/2017 Malignant Back Tumor
Because of the severity of this malignant tumor, if left alone it will cause paralysis. We have to drop everything and attack this tumor with radiation and chemo every day for about a month. This includes driving 150 miles roundtrip every day. This is the only possible way to treat this. We are humbly asking for financial help and prayers.
We never ever thought that we would be back to another cancer story this soon. I would like to clarify when I had my initial Bone Marrow Transplant there were not enough cells given to me, thus these ongoing problems and relapses.
To quickly bring you up to speed: this is a fast growing cancerous tumor in my lower back (as seen on the above picture on the right side/ standalone mass). It is growing as fast as it can with one goal to cause as much damage as possible, such as paralysis. As the doctor says this involves labor intensive treatment. This means five days a week of chemo and radiation at UVA in Charlottesville VA, 150 miles round trip for us.
Our precious town of Lynchburg does not have the medical cabapilities to handle such aggressive leukemia. Under normal circumstances, you would think staying near UVA for a month would be the logical choice. That is not so with cancer, due to my extremely weakend immune system and the threat of germs everywhere it is too dangerous to stay at a facility, motel, or a hospitality house. We do keep our home environment as sterile as possible.
In regards to my mom, Patricia, who is my 24/7 caregiver, that means she has to immediately stop working and care for me. Just think, if all of a sudden you did not get paid for a month and many extra and unexpected bills and expenses came up? Cancer is so financially draining! We already live on a shoestring budget as it is.
If you would like to lighten our load, it would make such a difference. We do not even like asking, but this is a life or death situation. Please pray that this cancer goes away and stays away so we can establish ourselves in ministry and work. So then we can be a blessing to others, which is our hearts' desire.
May you all be blessed!
Summer 2016
Five years ago, Brett was first diagnosed with leukemia. After many battles and a transplant, he finally regained his health. Nearly two years ago on a beautiful fall day, Brett broke his ankle while hiking around the Peaks of Otter Lake. That was a shock having never broken a bone before and you think no big deal because it will heal. But even physical therapy could not get Brett walking normally. Recently leukemia was discovered in his ankle which certainly answered why it never healed properly. He had perfect bloodwork which made cancer seem impossible. Brett then received targeted radiation which was very successful, but oh so painful. Even the medical director of radiation oncology highly respects all the heroic efforts Brett has gone through in his cancer battles. We were both so pleased after the radiation blisters began to heal and it appeared that all cancer was gone.
Then just a week ago on Monday August 15, 2016, he experienced terrible pain in his left leg, where he could not really put any weight on it. He had an immediate x-ray and everything looked great, but come to find out after more tests it is cancer and it has also spread to Brett’s lymph glands. The doctor has a strong plan of action which is to start another round of intense inpatient chemotherapy on Monday August 29. We are praying that Brett will again go into immediate remission and this time forever, but there are no guarantees. After this induction round which is very tough on the body, there will be subsequent rounds of chemo and maybe even a stem-cell booster transplant, which is very radical.
Brett is highly educated and has three seminary master’s degrees. He has been desiring to step into fulltime pastoral ministry for years. It is so frustrating to get better and then be knocked down again and again. Our doctor is hopeful that this leukemia can be permanently destroyed, but it will be a drastic war. Thankfully this time, Brett is going into this battle stronger than in the past.
Since I am a widow and choose to be with Brett for physical, spiritual, and mental support, my ability to work has come to an abrupt end. This fund will allow me to be a fulltime caregiver to Brett as I am very experienced at this. I have stayed every night and day in the hospital with him in the past and plan to do so now. Previously, several serious mistakes were avoided because I was present and alert and so willing to help the medical staff in any way I could. As an example, I was the one that noticed a 106* fever in the middle of the night and demanded action. Being in the hospital receiving chemotherapy is a life threatening situation that we are again facing because the chance of infection is very high with low blood counts. We experienced this before when Brett contracted sepsis and was rushed to the ICU. This incident was so drastic to me, that one week later I had a heart attack while in Brett’s hospital room. We have never had to ask like this before, but we do need practical help. Due to the severity and length of upcoming treatments and recovery for Brett’s leukemia, our local hospital in Lynchburg cannot treat him, we have to drive 70 miles one way to the hospital at University of Virginia Charlottesville for everything from inpatient chemo treatments to blood infusions to checkups. If there needs to be a bone marrow stem-cell booster, we will have to spend time in a hospital even further away.
Your prayers and positive thoughts do make all the difference in the world to us. Practically speaking, we need help. Since I am unable and have not been able to work this entire summer, our finances are in trouble. If you do want to help someone that really wants to live and make a positive contribution to society, please do so.
We were honored to be the keynote speakers at the 2015 Lynchburg Relay for Life. (Left to Right: Me, Brett, and his primary onclogist Dr. Mike Douvas of UVA)
Because of the severity of this malignant tumor, if left alone it will cause paralysis. We have to drop everything and attack this tumor with radiation and chemo every day for about a month. This includes driving 150 miles roundtrip every day. This is the only possible way to treat this. We are humbly asking for financial help and prayers.We never ever thought that we would be back to another cancer story this soon. I would like to clarify when I had my initial Bone Marrow Transplant there were not enough cells given to me, thus these ongoing problems and relapses.
To quickly bring you up to speed: this is a fast growing cancerous tumor in my lower back (as seen on the above picture on the right side/ standalone mass). It is growing as fast as it can with one goal to cause as much damage as possible, such as paralysis. As the doctor says this involves labor intensive treatment. This means five days a week of chemo and radiation at UVA in Charlottesville VA, 150 miles round trip for us.
Our precious town of Lynchburg does not have the medical cabapilities to handle such aggressive leukemia. Under normal circumstances, you would think staying near UVA for a month would be the logical choice. That is not so with cancer, due to my extremely weakend immune system and the threat of germs everywhere it is too dangerous to stay at a facility, motel, or a hospitality house. We do keep our home environment as sterile as possible.
In regards to my mom, Patricia, who is my 24/7 caregiver, that means she has to immediately stop working and care for me. Just think, if all of a sudden you did not get paid for a month and many extra and unexpected bills and expenses came up? Cancer is so financially draining! We already live on a shoestring budget as it is.
If you would like to lighten our load, it would make such a difference. We do not even like asking, but this is a life or death situation. Please pray that this cancer goes away and stays away so we can establish ourselves in ministry and work. So then we can be a blessing to others, which is our hearts' desire.
May you all be blessed!
Summer 2016
Five years ago, Brett was first diagnosed with leukemia. After many battles and a transplant, he finally regained his health. Nearly two years ago on a beautiful fall day, Brett broke his ankle while hiking around the Peaks of Otter Lake. That was a shock having never broken a bone before and you think no big deal because it will heal. But even physical therapy could not get Brett walking normally. Recently leukemia was discovered in his ankle which certainly answered why it never healed properly. He had perfect bloodwork which made cancer seem impossible. Brett then received targeted radiation which was very successful, but oh so painful. Even the medical director of radiation oncology highly respects all the heroic efforts Brett has gone through in his cancer battles. We were both so pleased after the radiation blisters began to heal and it appeared that all cancer was gone.
Then just a week ago on Monday August 15, 2016, he experienced terrible pain in his left leg, where he could not really put any weight on it. He had an immediate x-ray and everything looked great, but come to find out after more tests it is cancer and it has also spread to Brett’s lymph glands. The doctor has a strong plan of action which is to start another round of intense inpatient chemotherapy on Monday August 29. We are praying that Brett will again go into immediate remission and this time forever, but there are no guarantees. After this induction round which is very tough on the body, there will be subsequent rounds of chemo and maybe even a stem-cell booster transplant, which is very radical.Brett is highly educated and has three seminary master’s degrees. He has been desiring to step into fulltime pastoral ministry for years. It is so frustrating to get better and then be knocked down again and again. Our doctor is hopeful that this leukemia can be permanently destroyed, but it will be a drastic war. Thankfully this time, Brett is going into this battle stronger than in the past.
Since I am a widow and choose to be with Brett for physical, spiritual, and mental support, my ability to work has come to an abrupt end. This fund will allow me to be a fulltime caregiver to Brett as I am very experienced at this. I have stayed every night and day in the hospital with him in the past and plan to do so now. Previously, several serious mistakes were avoided because I was present and alert and so willing to help the medical staff in any way I could. As an example, I was the one that noticed a 106* fever in the middle of the night and demanded action. Being in the hospital receiving chemotherapy is a life threatening situation that we are again facing because the chance of infection is very high with low blood counts. We experienced this before when Brett contracted sepsis and was rushed to the ICU. This incident was so drastic to me, that one week later I had a heart attack while in Brett’s hospital room. We have never had to ask like this before, but we do need practical help. Due to the severity and length of upcoming treatments and recovery for Brett’s leukemia, our local hospital in Lynchburg cannot treat him, we have to drive 70 miles one way to the hospital at University of Virginia Charlottesville for everything from inpatient chemo treatments to blood infusions to checkups. If there needs to be a bone marrow stem-cell booster, we will have to spend time in a hospital even further away.
Your prayers and positive thoughts do make all the difference in the world to us. Practically speaking, we need help. Since I am unable and have not been able to work this entire summer, our finances are in trouble. If you do want to help someone that really wants to live and make a positive contribution to society, please do so.
We were honored to be the keynote speakers at the 2015 Lynchburg Relay for Life. (Left to Right: Me, Brett, and his primary onclogist Dr. Mike Douvas of UVA)Organizer and beneficiary
Patricia Class
Organizer
Lynchburg, VA
Brett T. Malott
Beneficiary