Donate to Jason Cohen's Journey to Wellness

Jason Cohen is amazing! He’s an exemplary friend, colleague, dog trainer, and all-around great guy who is more than worthy of our help.

Jason will need to shut down his training company while battling very aggressive cancer. According to the doctors, this will be at least 6 months of not working, which means zero income. Jason’s cancer is a very rare form and the treatment is complicated.

Below are his own words to describe the battle ahead. But the long story short is: Jason is out of work for at least the next 6 months. If you have been fortunate enough to call Jason a friend or a colleague, or have worked with him as your dog trainer, chances are Jason has touched your life. His incredible memes have been shared far and wide, his instructional videos have educated so many, and his loyal friendship and mentorship to his students are remarkable.

Being a sole proprietor makes staying afloat that much harder when you face life-threatening challenges. My goal is to lessen the financial stress so that Jason can focus on his journey to wellness while still providing for himself and his beloved two dogs, Karma and Whiskey.

In Jason’s words:

Thirty years ago, my mother beat colon cancer; 15 years ago, she beat thyroid cancer; and two years ago, my younger brother beat thyroid cancer as well, so I guess now it’s my turn to beat a rare cancer in a soft tissue retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS).

Within weeks, I will start my battle with cancer. For those who would like more information on the cancer details and the next steps in my journey, I’ve included them below:

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After meeting with an oncology surgeon and reviewing a CT scan, I have a large solid mass occupying much of the left half of the abdomen, invading into my left lower abdominal wall and rectus muscle, and very broad contact, possible invasion of the sigmoid colon, measuring 12.9 x 21 x 11.2 cm (5 x 8.2 x 4.4 in).

My cancer is a sarcoma. This differs from most other types of cancer, usually named for the part of the body where the cancer began. It’s a well-differentiated liposarcoma, a type of cancer arising from fat cells in soft tissue.

Sarcoma is a rare disease that accounts for about 1% of all cancers in adults. There are two main types—soft tissue or bone sarcoma—and more than 70 subtypes. My type is soft tissue retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS), which develops in the abdomen and pelvis, behind the abdominal lining, and near the kidneys.

I met with a medical oncologist and NYU Langone’s sarcoma specialist. We discussed a possible plan for nine weeks of chemotherapy via the STRASS 2 clinical trial, which aims to determine whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery improves outcomes compared to surgery alone for patients with high-risk retroperitoneal sarcoma.

I have decided to go directly to surgery due to the amount of pain and discomfort I am currently in, and I have already lost over 25 lbs. I will undergo possible radiation and then chemotherapy after I recover from the surgery.

There is a 50% chance of the cancer returning. It can spread to the liver or lungs, but so far (fingers crossed), there is no indication that it has spread, so that gives me a little hope.

Later this month, I have a nuclear stress test scheduled to check my heart and stent from a heart attack in 2017 in hopes to be cleared by my cardiologist for surgery ASAP and meet with a pain consult specialist.

When everything's approved, I will undergo an 8-10-hour surgery and stay in the hospital for a week, followed by possible radiation and then chemotherapy and a month to two-month recovery.

They most likely will need to remove part of my colon, bladder, ureter, abdominal wall, and some abdominal muscles, resect left rectus, and I would probably have to have some reconstruction.

Regarding my work with dogs, I have shut down my business during the possible 6-month process. After the surgery, I’ll need a two-month recovery, and while I do the chemotherapy, I will be immunocompromised.

I truly appreciate all the kind words and thoughts. You took the time to read this long post; it truly means a lot.

I’m thankful for my family and friends, who have helped and supported me throughout this process, but I have to be honest, I could really use a little help.