Hi, my name is Poeina, and I’m raising funds to help someone who is more than a friend, Jesse Lee Marshall is my family, The kind of family you choose.
On August 6th, Jesse was diagnosed with aggressive level 8 prostate cancer. Without immediate treatment, his chances of survival are slim. With treatment, his chances are strong but the cost is overwhelming. With two rounds of MRI's, Scans, procedures and a biopsy that came with painful complications, bills have already surpassed $10,000 just to get to this point. The Urologist said out of 15 tissue samples a staggering 15 came back positive for cancer, he has a very short window in which they can contain it, if it spreads his life will be over.
Jesse didn’t grow up with a typical supportive family unit. Instead, much of his upbringing was raised by the community that embraced him, friends, mentors, artists, peers. Chosen family. People who saw his brilliance and his heart, and embraced him as their own. And in turn, Jesse has spent his life showing up for others. Whether as a poet, an artist, a mentor, or a friend, Jesse gives without expecting anything back. He creates for the love of art, the healing power of words, and the thrill of building and launching small businesses.
In 2021, Jesse lost his son, Jaden. He moved to Arizona for a fresh start, determined to find light again and a reason to go on. After years of struggling and saving away, Jesse finally brought his catering equipment down from Seattle this February. Jesse is a hard worker, he spent every spare moment rebuilding his life and his business -getting licensed, approved, and fully ready to relaunch My Sweet Lil Cakes, the food business he built from scratch. He was finally at the starting line again… and then came the diagnosis.
Now Jesse is fighting for his life.
He’s a few months behind and facing potential eviction from using rent money to pay medical bills. He’s working through treatment decisions that affect everything from his body to his mental well-being... his future. He’s still standing tall, making jokes, still performing as a spoken word poet, and still believing there’s a road forward -but he needs us to walk with him now.
Your donation of any size will go directly toward life-saving treatments, housing stability, and medical costs. It will help Jesse stay alive long enough to finish what he started and continue to be a light for the world.
If you know Jesse, you know the strength he carries. If you don’t trust me when I say he is special and someone the world truly needs.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. And thank you for helping us save someone we love.
-Poeina