In May 2022, Chris was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in his tonsil, a lesion in the back of his throat, and a tumor in his tonsil. He underwent 7 weeks of chemo and radiation. This destroyed the tumor along with his saliva gland and his tonsil. They watched an area in his neck that kept showing up on PET scans.

In Oct of '23, there was a biopsy that came back positive, so in Jan 2024, Chris had a neck dissection removing 28 lymph nodes. Only one contained cancer.

Then in April 2024, the PET scan showed a spot above where surgery was done in the parotid gland. They were not sure if this was a residual of the surgery, so they kept an eye on it. In June of 2024, another PET scan showed the same area of concern. They decided to continue to watch it. The pain continued to get worse since January, so several MRI and CT scans have been done, leading to a CT needle-guided biopsy on Oct 30th. This did come back positive, so another PET scan was done on Nov 12th.

Chris and his family met with the surgeon on Nov 13th. The surgery they are suggesting is very invasive, dangerous, and comes with serious complications even if done perfectly. It can leave him with permanent life-changing disabilities (including potential paralysis) and a required stay in ICU for 3 days and 2 weeks minimum in the hospital.

Chris and his family have decided at this time that this is not the path they want to take. They met with his oncologist on November 19th, and he will be starting immunotherapy in 2 to 3 weeks. The treatment will be every 3 weeks by infusion.

This treatment is very expensive even with health insurance, but it is the best option to take at this time as surgery and potential paralysis is the last resort! Any help covering co-pays, co-insurance, etc., will go a long way for Chris and his family! Every dollar will help!