Giovanni's Funeral Expenses

Hi! Thank you for visiting the site. My name is Edgar Giovanni Cantu; I am 17 years old and live in Edinburg, TX. On July 8, 2014 I felt like my world had come to an end. I went from being the happiest, outgoing, fun, motivated teen to feeling hopeless, helpless, horrified, and much more as my family and I awaited for the unimaginable, unexpected news that would forever change not only my life but the life of my loved ones and those who surrounded me as well. I had been noticing a lump I had felt on my chest (the right side to be exact) me thinking it was just a sore muscle from my everyday football and basketball practice. After 2 weeks of not seeing it go away I complained to my mother about it.  2 days passed by, and I started feeling a little more discomfort so my mom decided to take me to our family physician. We arrive and we are just waiting to be called in and then it was finally my turn. They checked my vitals and weight. The Doctor comes in to examine me and since Cancer runs in our family he decides it's best to send us immediately to the Emergency Room. I was very nervous, thought it was just routine for precaution.  Little did I know what was about to unfold right in front of my eyes. We arrive and they quickly get me a room and start examining me with blood work and CT scan. The hardest part here was the waiting game.... being so hesitant every single time a nurse would walk in or knock on my door was so panicky. Finally after so many hours of waiting the Doctor walks in with sweaty hands & starts speaking with a broken/shattered voice.... I knew then things were not right. My mom trying to be as strong as she could looks at me and tells the Doctor, "Please tell me exactly what’s wrong with my son?" The Doctor was scared herself to even explain to my mom what she had seen, then explains to us after retrieving the results from the blood work and x-ray they were most certain my diagnosis was SARCOMA but they needed to perform further testing to be able to determine an accurate diagnosis of the type of Sarcoma I had. I was so confused at the time; I was in complete shock of what I was hearing.  I had no clue what Sarcoma meant. All I knew is that I had a large tumor in me and could mean CANCER. My first question was WHY???? Why me???? My family had been going through so much the past couple years, first it was my stepfather that had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013 and had to undergo 1 year of treatment and had just completed in March 2014. Then my mom had a tumor in her thyroid but luckily it wasn't cancerous and just had to have surgery to remove it, and now me! My mother immediately requested to be transferred to a Cancer Center in Houston, MD Anderson Children's Cancer Center which is 6 hours away from where I live. It was a very hard decision because that meant we had to leave my stepfather, 2 younger brothers and sister back home, while me and my mom stayed in Houston for my treatment. Meanwhile I was still in denial, I did a lot of research and googled tons of information about Sarcoma. I was pretty well aware of treatment plans, side effects, physical-mental & psychological emotions, but in reality it still hadn't kicked in that I had this huge monster inside me. As I dug deeper and deeper with research about Sarcoma I came across a particular blog about Sarcoma in young adults and football. I hadn't thought one bit about my football career. I quickly came to the conclusion that I would never be able to play football and succeed in life without my passionate career I had always dreamed of since I was a little boy.  We had finally arrived in Houston to my aunt’s house which is my mother’s sister; she is actually an 8 year Leukemia Survivor. She had lots of encouraging words for me and after a 3 hour conversation her inspiring words to me were... this is only a detour in life, you will live to be 90 plus years and tell your inspiring testimony to your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren you will be an advocate to many others and inspire the world. Although hearing inspiring words from so many, it is nearly impossible to feel at ease after being well aware of so many cases in young adults with Sarcoma. It was day 1 at MD Anderson; we met my new Oncologists, assistants and nurses. They had to perform new blood work, x-rays, biopsy and insert a port for my chemotherapy sessions. My Doctors name is Dr. Winston Huh. My exact diagnosis is Rhabdomyosarcoma; In 2014 I had a total of 42 rounds of chemotherapy, 6 weeks of Radiation, and at one point was scheduled for surgery to remove my tumor. I was extremely nervous of surgery due to the scars that would be left on my body and the possible deformation not to mention how my body would react after surgery and recovery. Surgery day quickly approached us and as they prepared me and wheeled me away to the surgery room all I could do at that point was Pray, Pray for a huge huge miracle and for the Doctors to be able to remove the tumor. All I could remember was the procedure being so quick. I was soon in the recovery room. As my mom walks in to see me she starts explaining what exactly happened and why I was in and out to the recovery so fast. Unfortunately I was not a perfect candidate for the procedure. As the surgeon went in with a little camera to see how they were going to remove the tumor, they apparently learned that I had new unknown tumor on the lining of the outside wall of my lung and was too large to consider surgery. The tumor was in a very rare location which is located a quarter inch to the heart by the chest wall. My Dr says that only 4% of children across the world have the same exact diagnosis and tumor location that I have. It has been draining traveling back and forth from home to the Cancer Center, all my chemotherapy's, radiation, hospital stays, side effects, etc. This has been a huge, huge emotional roller-coaster for me. I have struggled to continue my daily life style as my life will never be the same. To have taken a pause from school was very difficult, I had to start part time school and home school to keep up and actually pass and not stay behind. I went from being homecoming king and football all-star, commended into the High School Varsity football team, to a kid that everyone saw differently. Kids would actually bully me at school about my weight and how I looked; even a teacher was bulling me at some point because I would wear caps to hide my baldness. They were never understanding of what I was enduring, and they had no clue how I felt physically and emotionally and how hard it was to show up to school after a couple of days of getting my chemo. I just had to I had to push myself daily to do this because I know it will pay off in the long run. Now that I am in my junior year I feel so confidant of myself I see and can feel the support from my teachers and peers. The purpose of raising funds is to help with medical expenses.  I relapsed in January 2016, went under 38 rounds of chemotherapy was in remission for 6 months and I have currently relapsed once again. I will start a new chemotherapy treatment & possibly try for surgery. I will NOT give up, I HAVE not given up I STRONGLY believe in MIRICLES I will not compare my case with any others that have also suffered just like I have. I believe GOD is the all mighty healer and with the help of my parents, family, and friends I will overcome any obstacle in my path. With the help of my parents, they have looked into many different health and wellness centers that treat people just like me. The best places are far from us, very expensive and not everything is covered by insurance. I try pretty much any alternative treatments combined with the treatments that my oncologist give me, but those alternatives are pricy as well I do this because I believe and have the confidence that I will be CURED. I just wish this was a dream that was done and over with. I want to be healthy again and be a happy teenager with a regular life and be able to play the sports I am passionate about.  Thank you in advance for your consideration and God Bless You!

No donation is too small, all are welcome and so very appreciated.