Help Coach Marco Fight Cancer

In Spring 2023, Coach Marco Escalona was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery, which his doctors considered successful. At the time, they believed they had removed the cancer early and thoroughly enough that Marco was fully cancer-free. He had some post-surgical complications, but his doctors predicted that he would be ready for the 2023-2024 season.

Marco returned to work in July, and seemed to be doing well aside from some back pain that he attributed to his being off the ice for so long. He eventually went to the doctor to address the pain, at which point he learned that the cancer had unfortunately spread and he was going to require chemotherapy. The doctors anticipate that Marco will have to undergo at least 10 weeks of chemo, and will require an additional ~2 weeks to recover before returning to work. Of course, the timeline could change depending on how his body responds to treatment, but he has completed his first round of chemotherapy and his doctors are very optimistic that he will make a full recovery.

At this point, Coach Marco has been out of work for over six months and the expenses are mounting. Many people have reached out asking how they can help, so we've created this GoFundMe to give people a way to support him while he completes his treatment and his recovery.