Doug Brown's Rare Diagnosis

Doug Brown. Many of you may know my dad as a husband, a brother, an uncle, a son, "my friend's dad". To me, he’s the backbone of our family. I could go on for days about how great of a man & dad he is but I don't want to sound too cliche. I will say that he is the most selfless human I know, he has given up so much to provide for our family & for the most part.. always seems to know the answer/solution to whatever problem someone throws at him. 

Very recently, my dad was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct Cancer), a very rare but aggressive & terminal form of cancer that forms in the bile ducts. His cancer has attacked his liver and is spreading to other parts of his body. His cancer is incurable. Doctors told him with treatment he has 1-3 years to live. Without treatment, 6 months. 

My dad showed no symptoms & the diagnosis was a shock. He regularly went to the doctor, never smoked or drinked, and overall has always been very healthy.

We've yet to wrap our heads around this news but here are some of the statistics we were presented with;
 
- Only about 8,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with this cancer a year
- Only 1 out of 100,000 people in the Western World are diagnosed with Bile Duct cancer 
- The average age of someone diagnosed with Bile Duct Cancer is 72, my dad is only 51
- The 5 year survival rate is, on average, less than 30%. 

With this information in mind, my dad has decided to start chemotherapy to try to slow the progression of his cancer. Chemotherapy will not cure him but might offer him some extra time.

My dad has worked away the majority of his life. Since the age of 17, 60-80 hour work weeks have been common for him. Despite working as hard as he has, he was not able to put anything away for the future due to providing as much as he did for my family & I. He had plans of saving more once my brother & I made it through college. Due to the aggressiveness of the cancer, doctors have decided he can no longer work due to the pain & treatments he will need to go to. Being self employed, my dad will be out of work with no way to make ends meet. While my dad is worried about his health, he’s more preoccupied worrying about my mom, brother & I as we might lose everything. He has sold his entire business, as well as several of our personal belongings to try to make ends meet now that he cannot work. During the holiday season, this has rocked our family.

We are creating this GoFundMe in hopes to alleviate some of the stress that this financial burden has put on our family. We want to make whatever life he has left as comfortable as possible, knowing we can make ends meet would help tremendously.

We don’t want pity, we don’t want to be a story you share in the grocery line, we just want your support. If you can donate, we appreciate it more than you know. We know it’s so hard with the holiday season, but are hoping for a holiday miracle. 


Pray if that’s what you do, send us positive thoughts or even make a donation if you are able. 


Thank you for reading. Our family is thankful for all the people who have impacted my dads life and will continue to make an impact on our lives during this journey. 

Happy holidays & hug your family extra.