I’m Dave and I’m Bob’s long time best friend. We met playing pee wee football together over 30 years ago. We grew up together, captained our high school team together, ended up in college together and lived in our first adult apartment together. I was Bob’s best man, and the guy who located a traditional, off-the-shoulder wedding dress on eBay, that’d fit his 6’2” frame, for his bachelor party. We’ve done so much together, before and since, that I could go on for days, but that is not what this is about. This is about helping a truly good man - a devoted dad, a loving husband, a supportive brother, a grateful son and a rock-solid friend - beat the odds.
One morning in March, soon before his 46th birthday, Bob woke up with a headache so intense that it made him vomit. He thought it was the worst migraine of his life. Bob tried to focus on a backyard deck project he wanted to complete before the summer to enjoy with his 2 kids, Brendan 12 and Julia 10, and his wife Johnelle, after being couped up during the pandemic. The headache didn’t go away. Johnelle took Bob to the ER where he got a CT scan. It showed a large mass. After an MRI and tests that followed, the unthinkable diagnosis that haunts many of us became Bob’s reality. Advanced brain cancer, very rare, very likely terminal.
Bob’s cancer is a grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM for short. It hit fast and hard and gave no warning signs. This type of cancer does not go into remission and the doctors say that the average patient lives 18 months. My stomach drops as I type those words. I can’t even begin to imagine the fear that Bob is dealing with. Some patients, with good luck and science, make it 5+ years. This is Bob’s goal.
Instead of building the backyard deck, Bob had emergency brain surgery in which 95% of the tumor was removed. Instead of enjoying a summer with his family, Bob endured 6 weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy. Next up, Bob will begin a higher dose of chemo as maintenance therapy, which will continue every month for as long as his body can handle it (most tolerate 6 months – 1 year).
Work obviously stopped for Bob, most likely for good. His unread emails were left that way in his inbox. The things Bob had planned in his calendar got cancelled. The worries that most of us stress about in our everyday lives became irrelevant to Bob, almost instantly. All Bob has to think about now is family and the unimaginable battle ahead. Slow the tumor, buy time to spend with loved ones, hope and pray for a miracle or a medical breakthrough.
I lost my father to cancer when I was the same age as Bob’s son Brendan. During a drive to one of his radiation treatments, Bob asked me how my parents explained it to me when my dad got sick, what it was like for me when he passed away and how long it took me to get over losing him. As I answered these questions, for the first time in over 30 years of talking with Bob through all kinds of ups and downs, including at least a dozen conversations about his terminal diagnosis, I heard Bob cry.
The good news: Bob is a brawler and Johnelle a serial overachiever. They are 100% committed to doing everything possible to keep Bob with us. To this end, Bob’s latest MRI showed that the tumor had not grown since a scan in late April. It even shrunk a bit, which is amazing. While Bob and Johnelle are hesitant to celebrate too much, there is hope. Bob is motivated to fight harder. This is where we all come in and how we can truly help Bob beat the odds.
CUSTOM VACCINE: Bob and Johnelle are working with a lab and medical team outside of the US, where a ‘custom vaccine’ therapy (based on mRNA technology like the COVID-19 vaccine) has been utilized for about 5 years. It is only available in the US as a Phase 2 or 3 clinical trial at this time, neither of which Bob currently qualifies for. Cost for this treatment, as well as other repurposed medicines, will be significant because they are not covered by insurance. His family will need to spend approximately $150K over the next 18 months for the initial vaccine doses and related costs, as well as the continuation of various medications and treatments to slow the tumor. Beyond this, additional doses of the vaccine will need to be administered on a regular basis alongside continuing treatments to keep the tumor subdued. The costs are expected to grow well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly.
Bob and Johnelle are savers, as many of you know. They have worked their entire adult lives and lived within their means. Because of this, they are prepared to start this battle with savings and family assets. However, few among us have a financial plan that is suited for a fight like Bob faces, which strips him of his ability to work and requires recurring medical attention that is procured outside of the country. The funds that this campaign is seeking will put Bob in a position to attack this disease head on and full throttle. He believes he can beat the odds and I do too.
Bob has asked me to let everyone know that he has been unbelievably moved and motivated by the inpour of support so far. He and his family thank you immensely for your help, thoughts and prayers and of course for any assistance that you are able to provide by way of this campaign.
Please check back for updates:
One morning in March, soon before his 46th birthday, Bob woke up with a headache so intense that it made him vomit. He thought it was the worst migraine of his life. Bob tried to focus on a backyard deck project he wanted to complete before the summer to enjoy with his 2 kids, Brendan 12 and Julia 10, and his wife Johnelle, after being couped up during the pandemic. The headache didn’t go away. Johnelle took Bob to the ER where he got a CT scan. It showed a large mass. After an MRI and tests that followed, the unthinkable diagnosis that haunts many of us became Bob’s reality. Advanced brain cancer, very rare, very likely terminal.
Bob’s cancer is a grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM for short. It hit fast and hard and gave no warning signs. This type of cancer does not go into remission and the doctors say that the average patient lives 18 months. My stomach drops as I type those words. I can’t even begin to imagine the fear that Bob is dealing with. Some patients, with good luck and science, make it 5+ years. This is Bob’s goal.
Instead of building the backyard deck, Bob had emergency brain surgery in which 95% of the tumor was removed. Instead of enjoying a summer with his family, Bob endured 6 weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy. Next up, Bob will begin a higher dose of chemo as maintenance therapy, which will continue every month for as long as his body can handle it (most tolerate 6 months – 1 year).
Work obviously stopped for Bob, most likely for good. His unread emails were left that way in his inbox. The things Bob had planned in his calendar got cancelled. The worries that most of us stress about in our everyday lives became irrelevant to Bob, almost instantly. All Bob has to think about now is family and the unimaginable battle ahead. Slow the tumor, buy time to spend with loved ones, hope and pray for a miracle or a medical breakthrough.
I lost my father to cancer when I was the same age as Bob’s son Brendan. During a drive to one of his radiation treatments, Bob asked me how my parents explained it to me when my dad got sick, what it was like for me when he passed away and how long it took me to get over losing him. As I answered these questions, for the first time in over 30 years of talking with Bob through all kinds of ups and downs, including at least a dozen conversations about his terminal diagnosis, I heard Bob cry.
The good news: Bob is a brawler and Johnelle a serial overachiever. They are 100% committed to doing everything possible to keep Bob with us. To this end, Bob’s latest MRI showed that the tumor had not grown since a scan in late April. It even shrunk a bit, which is amazing. While Bob and Johnelle are hesitant to celebrate too much, there is hope. Bob is motivated to fight harder. This is where we all come in and how we can truly help Bob beat the odds.
CUSTOM VACCINE: Bob and Johnelle are working with a lab and medical team outside of the US, where a ‘custom vaccine’ therapy (based on mRNA technology like the COVID-19 vaccine) has been utilized for about 5 years. It is only available in the US as a Phase 2 or 3 clinical trial at this time, neither of which Bob currently qualifies for. Cost for this treatment, as well as other repurposed medicines, will be significant because they are not covered by insurance. His family will need to spend approximately $150K over the next 18 months for the initial vaccine doses and related costs, as well as the continuation of various medications and treatments to slow the tumor. Beyond this, additional doses of the vaccine will need to be administered on a regular basis alongside continuing treatments to keep the tumor subdued. The costs are expected to grow well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly.
Bob and Johnelle are savers, as many of you know. They have worked their entire adult lives and lived within their means. Because of this, they are prepared to start this battle with savings and family assets. However, few among us have a financial plan that is suited for a fight like Bob faces, which strips him of his ability to work and requires recurring medical attention that is procured outside of the country. The funds that this campaign is seeking will put Bob in a position to attack this disease head on and full throttle. He believes he can beat the odds and I do too.
Bob has asked me to let everyone know that he has been unbelievably moved and motivated by the inpour of support so far. He and his family thank you immensely for your help, thoughts and prayers and of course for any assistance that you are able to provide by way of this campaign.
Please check back for updates:
Organizer and beneficiary
Johnelle Whipple
Beneficiary