Don's continuing cancer fight
Donation protected
In late 2013, my son Don Varga was diagnosed with oral cancer, specifically an aggressive tumor on the underside of his tongue. The only treatment was a glossectomy, surgery to remove the tongue and fashion a “new tongue” with flesh removed from his thigh. The surgery was done in February 2014. It took over 10 hours and recovery was difficult. It was followed by 6 weeks of radiation therapy directed at the lower jaw area.
Learning to speak with a non-functional tongue was challenging, but he overcame that challenge and although he has a speech impairment, he can be understood.
Following the surgery, Don was on a feeding tube and after a year was able to eat enough soft foods to be without the tube. Then he developed severe sepsis with multiple system shut-down and acute renal failure and spent 11 days in the hospital followed by a month of dialysis. This was a direct result of infection in the teeth and after this medical incident, he was no longer able to swallow food and the feeding tube was again required and will be permanent.
Learning to live without being able to eat even pureed foods for the rest of his life and being dependent on a feeding tube for his only means of nourishment is painful emotionally as well as physically, but he has accepted that as well. The nutrition formula and necessary devices for tube feeding cost $300 a month and are not covered by insurance.
The radiation affected his body in several ways, including constant back pain, loss of weight and muscle, neck and jaw pain, loss of stamina and headaches. Most severe and crucial is the deterioration of his lower jaw and the underlying structure for his teeth which is a direct result of the radiation treatment. The teeth have decayed and are eroding. He is in constant, extreme pain in the teeth and gets frequent infections as the result of the deterioration.
The only relief would be surgical removal of the teeth and reconstruction of the lower jaw. The procedure to remove the teeth must be done in the hospital under anesthesia since he is unable to open his mouth far enough as a result of the TMJ. He has been to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and found that the procedure will cost over $20,000 (with no reconstruction or prosthesis). His health insurance will not pay for it since it is considered by them to be “dental,” so it would need to be self-pay.
Don is on disability and his wife Darla works full-time but there is no way they can come up with the cash needed, especially in light of unpaid previous medical bills that insurance did not cover in excess of $100,000. Yes, he did have insurance through this. If I could, I would pay it in a heartbeat but my only income is social security.
It is a miracle to me that Don has survived the cancer and still has a positive attitude toward life. It is so terribly painful for us to see this good man suffer through such agony that could be relieved if we could only come up with $20,000 to have the teeth removed and maybe someday reconstruction could be considered.
Learning to speak with a non-functional tongue was challenging, but he overcame that challenge and although he has a speech impairment, he can be understood.
Following the surgery, Don was on a feeding tube and after a year was able to eat enough soft foods to be without the tube. Then he developed severe sepsis with multiple system shut-down and acute renal failure and spent 11 days in the hospital followed by a month of dialysis. This was a direct result of infection in the teeth and after this medical incident, he was no longer able to swallow food and the feeding tube was again required and will be permanent.
Learning to live without being able to eat even pureed foods for the rest of his life and being dependent on a feeding tube for his only means of nourishment is painful emotionally as well as physically, but he has accepted that as well. The nutrition formula and necessary devices for tube feeding cost $300 a month and are not covered by insurance.
The radiation affected his body in several ways, including constant back pain, loss of weight and muscle, neck and jaw pain, loss of stamina and headaches. Most severe and crucial is the deterioration of his lower jaw and the underlying structure for his teeth which is a direct result of the radiation treatment. The teeth have decayed and are eroding. He is in constant, extreme pain in the teeth and gets frequent infections as the result of the deterioration.
The only relief would be surgical removal of the teeth and reconstruction of the lower jaw. The procedure to remove the teeth must be done in the hospital under anesthesia since he is unable to open his mouth far enough as a result of the TMJ. He has been to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and found that the procedure will cost over $20,000 (with no reconstruction or prosthesis). His health insurance will not pay for it since it is considered by them to be “dental,” so it would need to be self-pay.
Don is on disability and his wife Darla works full-time but there is no way they can come up with the cash needed, especially in light of unpaid previous medical bills that insurance did not cover in excess of $100,000. Yes, he did have insurance through this. If I could, I would pay it in a heartbeat but my only income is social security.
It is a miracle to me that Don has survived the cancer and still has a positive attitude toward life. It is so terribly painful for us to see this good man suffer through such agony that could be relieved if we could only come up with $20,000 to have the teeth removed and maybe someday reconstruction could be considered.
Organizer and beneficiary
Carole Lahti
Organizer
Town of Laketown, WI
Donald Varga
Beneficiary