Help Ben Schweers Through His Cancer Journey

Ben Schweers is a 14-year-old boy who left his house on August 9th, 2024, to play a game of basketball with some friends. Once home, his leg was hurting so severely that his mom took him into Urgent Care for x-rays. This is how they learned that Ben had a tumor the size of a loaf of bread growing in his femur and would later learn additional tumors are in his lungs. Ben has been diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer that most frequently targets children and teenagers. Ben’s proposed treatment will be a three-part process. 1) 10 weeks of chemotherapy, then 2) four surgeries to remove the tumors in his femur and lungs and to replace bone with an internal prosthetic implant, 3) 10 more weeks of chemotherapy. Ben hopes to remotely attend Carroll Middle School on Mondays and Fridays if, and when, it is possible.

Ben and his brother Caleb (17) are the sons of Jackie (Sunderman) and Jason Schweers. Jason is a Command Sergeant Major with the 82nd Airborne Division in the United States Army, currently stationed at Fort Liberty in North Carolina. Jason has served in the Army for over 20 years, many of which were spent deployed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Jackie is a Pharmacy Technician at the Carroll Apothecary.

They are grandsons of Nancy McCarville and Jeff McCarville, Frank Schweers, and Di and Blaine Sunderman.

Jackie will be unable to work while Ben undergoes treatment and will require 24/7 care. Jason will need to travel to and from North Carolina to Rochester, MN or Omaha, NE where Ben will be provided chemotherapy and multiple surgeries.

The financial toll of not working and traveling by plane weekly for many weeks in a row will be significant for both Jackie and Jason. In an effort to support them so they can support Ben, this GoFundMe account will be split between Jason and Jackie.