Chris Newlin Recovery Fund

My husband Chris was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in mid-January after a visit to the local ER with severe abdominal pain. He was able to begin treatment almost immediately. There are lots of options for treating CML and Chris is on one called Nilotinib//Tasinga, a TKI inhibitor. He takes 2 pills twice a day and has to fast 2 hours prior and one hour after. He will be on this medication as long as his levels move in the right direction, with the goal of reaching a deep molecular response within a designated time frame. Once he does, he continues treatment for 3 years and then it is assessed whether or not he can discontinue treatment.

During this time, he will get regular blood work and visit his oncologist every three months. Down the road, if he is able to go off of medication, he will still get blood work every 3-6 months for the rest of his life. There is a 50% chance of relapse for individuals who come off of treatment but that generally just means that they begin again and the clock resets. The advantage of going off when able is that the body gets a break and relief from any side effects as well as a pause in any treatment resistance that may have been developing.

So, this is a long road for Chris. A marathon and not a sprint. We are fortunate to have good insurance through Chris’ employer but even so, we will be hitting our deductibles as well as our max out-of-pocket expenses for at least the next 3-5 years. Our plan also does not cover the complementary medicine that we are finding to be a huge beneficial support to Chris during this journey, such as regular acupuncture treatments. It is strange to be living this new reality. Chris is such an incredibly hard worker and a consummate provider, the very last thing I want is for him to be under any additional strain as he considers how to finance his care.

Chris and I have three children, our oldest is headed off to college in the fall and our youngest is a preschooler. We live on a small piece of land in northern Vermont with our family, three dogs, and an ever-changing number of chickens. Thank you for considering assisting our family as we navigate this big change.