My name is Abagael Lola, I'm here fundraising for our dear friend, Chad. This is his story...

Hello, my name is Chad. I'm a visually impaired 58-year-old who has been a self-employed/freelance production sound mixer in the Seattle area for almost 24 years.

But it’s not just "I"; it’s "we" because Som, my husband, has been to almost every appointment with me, holding my hand and telling me, "We will get through this."

It all started with an annual checkup back in September of 2023. I had a PSA blood test taken that came back very high. My doctor sent me to another doctor. That appointment was in the evening of October 31st. He said, "You have cancer." Som and I were in shock and disbelief. Som asked, "What are the chances it’s not cancer?" He replied, "Nine out of ten, that it is cancer, so I guess, a 1 in 10 chance that it’s not." I cried on the drive home.

Ok, let’s just rip off the band-aid. I have a very aggressive, fast-growing form of prostate cancer called a Gleason 5+5 or 10 if you want to Google it. I am at what they call either Stage 3C or Stage 4A. The cancer is in the prostate region and has spread into one and likely three of my lymph nodes. Surgery is not an option.

Because of the rarity of my cancer, we decided to go with treatment at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, which, unfortunately, is out of our insurance network, so it is more expensive for us. We get bills almost every other day ranging from $100 to $1200. So far, that is. I do have a max payout of $7,300 with our insurance, but that is a very scary number for someone not working. I will start on April 10th with focused radiation treatment, where I will be required to go to UW Hospital five days a week for almost six weeks. I don’t know what our share of that will be yet.

This is a huge stress for me, being freelance and self-employed. I have no sick leave, unemployment, or disability insurance. I’ve sold some of my equipment and started filling out paperwork for some small grants, but it’s unlikely that I’ll be eligible and/or that I would get it quickly enough to really do much to help.

Emotionally, this is something we have to do on our own, but a friend told me that people who know and love me want to help, and everyone who knows has said, "If there is anything I can do, please let me know." One friend who went through cancer said to me, "You have to learn to accept help." I’m not good at that. This is me trying.

In 2018-2019, I lost nearly 70 percent of my vision and had almost as many doctor appointments and scans, though that was all “In Network” care. At the time, we tightened our belts, dipped into my rainy day and retirement funds, and we were just recovering when this, along with a slow 2023 for my work, hit us hard.

I really appreciate you for taking the time to read this far and for helping if you can. Plus, this could be a great place to keep you all posted on my progress.

Thank you for your love & support,

Chad