Late October after having visited my doctor for bloodwork, I was told by my bilirubin account was wildly out of balance and I needed to immediately go to the emergency room. I ended up being admitted to the hospital and after a battery of tests it was determined a colonoscopy was needed to check on a growth in my secum. I did the prep for the procedure and they attempted to get eyes on it but in doing so discovered a growth in my rectum which was partially obstructing my bowel which they could not get by.

A biopsy was done and I was diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer. As you can imagine, this was quite a shock for someone my age. This sort of thing really only happens to people older than me. We started on an aggressive chemotherapy battery in order to shrink the tumor and control its spread in my body, but in order to do so I have had to take an extended leave of absence from my job and I've burned through all of my sick leave and PTO in order to make sure my rent and other expenses are at least partially covered.

At this point, that is all gone and I'm going on FMLA so I can continue to maintain health insurance for as long as possible and continue to receive life saving treatment, but at this rate I am going to end up burning through what meager cash reserves I have left. I'm in the process of applying for disability, but the earliest I am likely to receive a decision is August 2026 and I don't have the resources to get there without your help. I'm going to fight this thing with all the strength I have in my body but what you give me will be the support I need to continue to fight like hell.