This is the hardest thing I've ever had to face. My friend Spencer is fighting for his life, and we need your help to cover his expenses. Every little bit counts. Please share and donate!

https://gofund.me/09bbf187

My name is Shaun Alexander. I am trying to raise money to help my friend Spencer VanLaanen, his family, & I while we go through this tough journey together with him! In December, at only age 36, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lower esophageal/upper stomach cancer with a small spot also on his liver & another on his T9 vertebrae! Prior to that, he owned his own company as a carpenter after learning how to do everything for years first. He mainly installed custom cabinets, door & window frames, etc. He went into the Mayo Clinic at a smaller location near where he was living at the time, called me right away with the news, & I couldn't believe it! My friend, since we were young, gets dealt a shitty hand at a very young age as well as finding out it's already in stage 4! His spirits were high and he wanted to fight! He asked if he could stay with me; I said he was more than welcome to anytime. Then our fight began! We decided on Mayo Clinic - Rochester, MN after getting him on a CADI waiver, disability, etc. He started staying at my place and back and forth to Mayo Clinic we went. He did all this while staying good-spirited! It required lots of doc appointments in the oncology department along with blood tests, chemotherapy, spot radiation treatments, P.E.T. scans, etc. Then after the 1st round of chemo & spot radiation, his PET scan along with other scans showed his tumor had shrunk from 9 inches down to 3.5, his liver that had a small spot on it was clear & so was his spot on his T9 vertebrae! Things were looking positive, and hearing that made us happy. Then after more scans, blood tests, doc visits came the 2nd round of chemotherapy. The doctors & us had hoped to shrink the tumor down far enough to where they could go in and get the tumor out, but after the 2nd round of chemotherapy, his scans showed his cancer was back on his liver & back on his vertebrae, and the tumor didn't shrink anymore in his lower esophagus/upper stomach area! It was bad news after such positive news prior! He eventually stayed with me at my apartment every day, and we were together 24/7. Then all hell broke loose. He started throwing up a lot, which was black in color! His tumor was leaking blood into his stomach. His liver then began to stop working correctly or altogether, and the inside of his belly but outside of his stomach started filling up with fluid. We did an ER visit & found out they had to do these paracenteses to get the fluid out! It was like that for a long time, and I became his primary caregiver, which I was happy to do for him with no questions asked & asking for nothing in return from him either as he is a best friend of mine! I ended up taking him to the ER multiple times at different locations because when his stomach filled up about every 3 days, it would make him throw up, be in more pain, and we couldn't do the chemo or radiation treatments while this was happening because his blood tests would show his electrolytes all messed up. Having to drain the fluid so often, his body couldn't keep his electrolytes steady nor his hemoglobin at a normal level. When he was diagnosed, he walked into the hospital with his hemoglobin at a 1.8! 1.8 for those who don't know, usually anything under 3, you're like dead, but not him! So then we went down to Mayo Clinic for his 3rd chemotherapy treatment, but we had a day of tests, then a day off, then back for appointments the day after, but he started throwing up in the hotel every time he'd get up, throw up, lay back down, did it the whole day in between through to the next morning! Then we went into the ER at Mayo Rochester to do a paracentesis because his belly was full again & he had been throwing up way more than normal when his belly filled up with that fluid. They told us his potassium was high, which is not good! You can die from that alone. Also, his sodium levels were really low! We went down on a Tuesday, scheduled to come back Friday, but were in the ER on Thursday before his chemo & we found that out, so we were stuck down there for about a week longer than we expected & left with no chemo done, a surgery to put a drain tube in his side, and a hospice call to be set up the next day! So we get back, hospice sends a bed & then comes over, but from what the doctor in the ER Oncology Department said, his understanding was that he could (after all this) still fight, but hospice would help make him comfortable with meds and stuff while he does so. They come over & start explaining it and say hospice is if you don't wanna fight any longer ! So they leave, he still wants to fight, so no hospice! I try to get him eating and taking meds so his body would be okay and healthy enough for the 3rd round of chemotherapy! Then on June 16th, we go to 3 appointments, the last of which was his oncology doctor & she said we got your blood test results from earlier & your electrolytes are off and your hemoglobin, which a normal body is around 12 to 14, was only at a 4.4! She said, "Spencer, you wanted me to be straight with you in the beginning of all this!" He said, "Yeah doc, tell me straight up!" She said, "We can't allow you to fight anymore and do this 3rd chemo round. Your body just won't be able to handle it! I'm sorry! I'd say you have days to weeks left! Even with you being so young, your body won't be able to handle it!" I couldn't believe it. I said days to weeks!? WTF? No! Just 4 days ago, he was fine, walking around with me, went to get our haircuts! She said the cancer had progressed as well... I think I cried more than he did! Now it's July 16th, so we beat what the doctors said, days to weeks! Now we're in the months category, but I have been his caregiver while I have to watch my friend get so skinny & weak that he needs help with everything! Even though he continues to beat the odds, it's so hard to do (especially when you have your own back & neck problems) and hard to watch one of your best friends go through this. From day 1, I have been here for him, and I get a lot of thank yous & he's lucky to have yous and I'm sorrys! Hospice comes every day for about 15 mins to 30 mins. I'm taking care of him 24/7 while trying to juggle both our schedules & have been for months. I got him into his own apartment in my building, which I thought he'd be staying in for a while! He found out who his true friends are, especially after something of this magnitude happens! It gets hard watching him decline so quickly!

I'm doing this GoFundMe for everything from expenses after he passes to expenses now, for any bills that come in his name from medical to anything, for gas, food, supplies, anything him, his family, or I need taken care of while he still tries to defy odds! Whatever you can give would be greatly appreciated by us all, I'm sure! #FuckCancer! Spencer, keep defying all odds... who knows, maybe a miracle will happen! Also, please pray for Spencer & his family during this time!

Thank You,

Shaun