- A
- K
Two weeks ago, Chris was officially diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. While we were hoping and praying for it to be something else and not as serious, we are glad to finally know what it is and we continue to be hopeful that he can be treated and make a full recovery.
While it's not easy to ask for money, Chris and my parents are feeling the financial burden after all of the tests, scans, stents, travel, etc., so I've created a Go Fund Me page to try and help them as best I can. As best we can.
Unfortunately, Chris does not have health insurance, which makes this situation even more stressful and way more expensive. But as my mom says, you can't put a price tag on life. Chris is putting in long hours at work despite fatigue and pain and my parents are doing everything they can to try and cover the thousands of dollars in down payments that Mayo requires, but they could really use some help. They'd never ask for it, so I'm asking for them.
I'm not quite sure what a realistic goal is, so I've set it at $10,000 in hopes of raising at least that.
Any contribution will be so so appreciated. It might take Chris a lifetime to pay back his bills, but any contribution will not only help cover medical bills, but will also help him and my parents with travel expenses, food, and whatever else is to come. If you cannot donate, please just keep the prayers coming and continue to reach out and love on my brother and parents.
Cancer sucks. His battle won't be easy and we don't know what the future holds, but we are encouraged by the prayers and messages our family has received these last couple of months. Chris is young (43), fit, eats well, doesn't smoke or drink, but cancer can show up in anyone at anytime. But Chris is a fighter like so many others battling this disease! All of the love, messages, calls, words of encouragement, positive thoughts, prayers, conversations about others’ cancer experiences, etc. have meant the world to Chris and our family, so thank you!
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Here is a little bit more of Chris' story:
In June, while my parents were visiting DC and helping me and Erik with our toddler and newborn, my brother, Chris, was secretly suffering.
By the time my parents returned to Brookings, Chris had jaundiced skin and eyes, had lost 30 lbs, didn’t have an appetite and had abnormal stools. All pointing to something very serious and scary. He’s tough and didn’t want my parents to worry, so he never let on that he was that sick. My parents convinced him to go in, despite not having insurance, to get checked.
A trip to the Brookings clinic initially showed something wrong with the liver. Immediately following that, a trip to the Sioux Falls ER and a hospital stay there pointed towards Pancreatic Cancer. After receiving a second opinion at Mayo, we were hopeful it was an auto immune disease but they wouldn’t rule out cancer. After more tests and more scans, Mayo officially diagnosed Chris with Pancreatic Cancer.
While we were hoping it was was Pancreatitis or Auto Immune Disease of the Pancreas as some doctors suspected, it turns out that Chris is a VERY unique case (Mayo is even doing a case study on him). Cancer markers were there, but the cancerous tumor was hard to find - it is hiding within a larger benign tumor that they initially found and thought could be caused by an auto immune disease. Both tumors are on the head of the Pancreas which seems to be an ideal location as long as the cancer does not spread. At this stage, Chris has not yet met with his doctor or the surgeon on possible next steps, but his appointment is next week. Another scan is required before they come up with a treatment pan. They've talked about some rounds of Chemo to shrink the tumors and then maybe surgery to remove part of or the full pancreas. While we wait for next steps, we remain hopeful. Hopeful that it won't spread, that it can be removed with successful but difficult surgery, that he can get rid of the pain and get some energy back, and ultimately live the long and full life he deserves - unlike so many who have had Pancreatic Cancer.
While it will take him all of his life to repay his medical bills, he is so lucky that he can’t be turned away and he can still get insurance with this preexisting condition when he is eligible to sign up in November.
The stress of the bills and expenses to get to and from and stay at Mayo continue to grow . I wish I could pay the bills myself, but I can't, so I'm asking our friends and family for help. Help for my brother and help for my parents who, as you’d expect, are the MOST selfless people and are doing everything they can to pay what they can, provide what they can, and just be there for my brother as he goes through this dark and scary chapter. They would sell their house and live on the streets before all options for Chris were exhausted.
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Thank you!
While it's not easy to ask for money, Chris and my parents are feeling the financial burden after all of the tests, scans, stents, travel, etc., so I've created a Go Fund Me page to try and help them as best I can. As best we can.
Unfortunately, Chris does not have health insurance, which makes this situation even more stressful and way more expensive. But as my mom says, you can't put a price tag on life. Chris is putting in long hours at work despite fatigue and pain and my parents are doing everything they can to try and cover the thousands of dollars in down payments that Mayo requires, but they could really use some help. They'd never ask for it, so I'm asking for them.
I'm not quite sure what a realistic goal is, so I've set it at $10,000 in hopes of raising at least that.
Any contribution will be so so appreciated. It might take Chris a lifetime to pay back his bills, but any contribution will not only help cover medical bills, but will also help him and my parents with travel expenses, food, and whatever else is to come. If you cannot donate, please just keep the prayers coming and continue to reach out and love on my brother and parents.
Cancer sucks. His battle won't be easy and we don't know what the future holds, but we are encouraged by the prayers and messages our family has received these last couple of months. Chris is young (43), fit, eats well, doesn't smoke or drink, but cancer can show up in anyone at anytime. But Chris is a fighter like so many others battling this disease! All of the love, messages, calls, words of encouragement, positive thoughts, prayers, conversations about others’ cancer experiences, etc. have meant the world to Chris and our family, so thank you!
-------------
Here is a little bit more of Chris' story:
In June, while my parents were visiting DC and helping me and Erik with our toddler and newborn, my brother, Chris, was secretly suffering.
By the time my parents returned to Brookings, Chris had jaundiced skin and eyes, had lost 30 lbs, didn’t have an appetite and had abnormal stools. All pointing to something very serious and scary. He’s tough and didn’t want my parents to worry, so he never let on that he was that sick. My parents convinced him to go in, despite not having insurance, to get checked.
A trip to the Brookings clinic initially showed something wrong with the liver. Immediately following that, a trip to the Sioux Falls ER and a hospital stay there pointed towards Pancreatic Cancer. After receiving a second opinion at Mayo, we were hopeful it was an auto immune disease but they wouldn’t rule out cancer. After more tests and more scans, Mayo officially diagnosed Chris with Pancreatic Cancer.
While we were hoping it was was Pancreatitis or Auto Immune Disease of the Pancreas as some doctors suspected, it turns out that Chris is a VERY unique case (Mayo is even doing a case study on him). Cancer markers were there, but the cancerous tumor was hard to find - it is hiding within a larger benign tumor that they initially found and thought could be caused by an auto immune disease. Both tumors are on the head of the Pancreas which seems to be an ideal location as long as the cancer does not spread. At this stage, Chris has not yet met with his doctor or the surgeon on possible next steps, but his appointment is next week. Another scan is required before they come up with a treatment pan. They've talked about some rounds of Chemo to shrink the tumors and then maybe surgery to remove part of or the full pancreas. While we wait for next steps, we remain hopeful. Hopeful that it won't spread, that it can be removed with successful but difficult surgery, that he can get rid of the pain and get some energy back, and ultimately live the long and full life he deserves - unlike so many who have had Pancreatic Cancer.
While it will take him all of his life to repay his medical bills, he is so lucky that he can’t be turned away and he can still get insurance with this preexisting condition when he is eligible to sign up in November.
The stress of the bills and expenses to get to and from and stay at Mayo continue to grow . I wish I could pay the bills myself, but I can't, so I'm asking our friends and family for help. Help for my brother and help for my parents who, as you’d expect, are the MOST selfless people and are doing everything they can to pay what they can, provide what they can, and just be there for my brother as he goes through this dark and scary chapter. They would sell their house and live on the streets before all options for Chris were exhausted.
-----------
Thank you!