On 11/19/2021 my cousin Dale Dentler (34 yrs old) was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called uveal melanoma. Uveal melanoma is a highly aggressive form of melanoma that originates in the eye.

Dale's tumor measured 17.5 mm x 19 mm x 11.5 mm in his right eye on 11/30/2021. He has been experiencing severe vision loss which prompted him to see an eye specialist in Dallas, TX and that is when they found the tumor.

He is currently seeking treatment in Houston, TX with an ocular oncologist by the name of Dr. Amy Schefler from Retina Consultants of Texas. He is set to get a 2nd opinion from MD Anderson Cancer Center (which is also located in Houston) on 12/15/2021. Dale and his family currently live in Denton, TX. This means they will be traveling a little over 4 hours to his appointments. And since it's an 8 hour round trip, many of the days will result in overnight hotel stays due to the length of appointments.

Currently we are waiting for insurance approval for an mri of his abdomen and a ct scan of his chest to see if the cancer has spread to his liver or lungs. This particular type of cancer spreads to the liver in more than 50% of cases. Statistics for this type of cancer are horrific. Uveal melanoma is highly resistant to treatment and there is currently no treatments that work once it has spread.

Although we are praying that his cancer is localized to only his eye, we don't know if that's the case or not. Dale's not one to go to the doctor. If you know Dale personally then you know that he spends most of his time working and when he's not working, he spends it with his wife Patricia and his little girl Heaven. Thankfully Dale has good health insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield. Even though he has good insurance, his deductible is $3,300 per calendar year and a yearly out of pocket of $6,600 . This means he has to meet his deductible in December and turn around and meet it again in January.

He has already been told that by 12/30/21 he has to pay his surgeon, Dr Schefler, $3,500 for his scheduled surgery on 1/3/2022 at Houston Methodist Hospital. So not only does he have to pay $3000 upfront for his scans he will be having in Dallas prior to surgery, he also has to fork over $3,500 for his surgeon and this doesn't even include the hospital fees yet.

He's scheduled for surgery to insert his plaque for radiation on 1/3/22. This will administer radiation directly into his tumor and eye for 7 days in hopes it will kill the tumor. Dale's tumor is extremely large and Dr Schefler is anticipating that she will be able to save his eye from enucleation (eye removal) but she isn't 100% sure until Dale meets with the radiation oncologist that is on her team. So there is a possibility that he could lose his eye. Dr Schefler did go ahead and let Dale know that his vision is as good as its going to get right now. He can't really see anything right now because of the damage that the tumor is causing so quickly.

Dr Schefler is concerned that there may be a spot on the back of his tumor where it is trying to leave the eye and spread to the soft tissue. If this is happening, this is not good. She will not know until 1/3/2022 when she has him in surgery if this is happening or not.

Friends and family, Dale needs our support. Please help us raise funds to cover his deductible 2x. Being diagnosed with cancer during the last month of the year is awful financially. The doctors and hospitals won't do any tests or surgery until the money is paid. As of right now we know he has to come up with $6,000 before the end of the year. I know it's Christmas time and we all have alot going on but Dale's surgery cannot wait. Everything that has been seen so far with Dale's case, is showing signs that his cancer is aggressive. This can't be put off.

I know many people don't like to donate through gofundme because of the fees taken out. You are more than welcome to contact me, Kenzie Husing, via Facebook. I am Dale's cousin and will be helping his family in raising funds to help pay medical and travel expenses during Dale's journey with cancer. If you wish to donate or send help another way please reach out. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. We completely understand if you cannot help financially so we ask that you please share this fundraiser and say a prayer for Dale.

Thank you all so much from the bottom of our hearts! We will update once we know more details.

This is the latest image of his tumor on 11/30/21. Where you see the "cross hairs" it should be all black. A normal eye would not have any white areas where the yellow lines are. Dale's tumor is extremely large.