We are the proud family of our nephew, cousin and grandson, Ethan Gasteyer. He has been courageously fighting a brain tumor since 2020 when he was a sophomore at the University of Connecticut. During his surgery and treatments, he continued his studies, reached remission, and graduated with a degree in Physiology and Neurobiology and headed off to Medical School.

In 2024, Ethan was in the middle of his third year of medical school, at UConn Health, working on his rotations, doing what he loves and has dreamed of since high school-becoming a medical doctor, when he received the devastating news that his tumor had grown.

After four years in remission from his original diagnosis, this news shook us all to the core. Ethan had beaten it the first time around and we are praying and hoping that the next step of his journey will lead him on the path to complete health. He continues to inspire us with his courage, strength, faith and hope that he shows even on the darkest days of his journey. He keeps pushing forward, continuing with his treatments and diagnostic tests all while trying to figure out how to adjust to putting his medical school dreams on hold to focus on his health. He is living at home with his parents, Michael and Hilda and his two younger brothers, Owen and Rooney, both in college, and his dog Frosty. Despite these challenges, he has been writing a book about his journey and continuing to take some classes online for his master’s degree in public health.

Ethan has been given an incredible opportunity to go to Germany and receive a personal vaccine tailored to fight his specific tumor, through a company called CeGat. He was very fortunate that he was able to qualify for this treatment. He has exhausted the limited options for brain tumor treatments in the United States at this point. He will be required to fly to Germany monthly over the next eleven months to receive his vaccine. Unfortunately, insurance does not cover the expense of this life-saving vaccine that cost $120,000. His family was required to pay for this treatment up-front before the vaccine could be made. This doesn’t include the cost for the monthly travel expenses, air flights, hotels, transportation, food and any future medical expenses that may come along. We are hoping to raise at least half of these additional expenses, which we estimate to be $110,000 without any unexpected costs. That is why we set our fundraising goal at $55,000.

After 14 weeks of waiting, they just received the news that the vaccine is ready! They will begin this part of his journey when they fly to Germany on November 22.

We want to help Ethan feel confident that he can concentrate entirely on healing and not worry about the on-going expenses. He is an amazing young man who needs the support of friends, family and his community to take this next step.

Please pray for him and if you can, donate to help take the financial burden off Ethan and his family so that he can completely focus on getting well. Ethan and his family appreciate all the prayers, support, and words of encouragement they have been receiving.

With much appreciation and love,

Ethan's Aunties, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents