Help Cody Conquer Cancer
Donation protected
These are the three Stromberg brothers – Blake, Jared, and Cody. And I’m their sister – the only girl in the family – Jacee. All three of my brothers have (or had) a disease called Myelodysplasia Syndrome, or MDS. Blake, the youngest, passed away from it 10 years ago. Jared recently was diagnosed with it and is currently going through chemo. Cody is in the fight for his life – and really could use some help.
For some background, MDS is a “pre-leukemia” disease that, in 1 of 3 patients, will develop into Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). It typically affects adults over 60 years old and is rarely found in younger, otherwise healthy adults like my brothers. Typical treatment involves chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
MDS is also very rare – only ~15,000 cases are identified annually in the U.S. (for context, that’s 0.005% of the population), and about 50,000 people currently have it (or 0.02%). What’s also very rare? The chance that someone with MDS will have a sibling that develops the disease also. Doctors peg that at a 2% chance. If chances are 0.02% that a single person develops MDS, then 2% that a single sibling will also have it…I’m not good at math, but I think the chances that all three of my brothers develop the disease is pretty dang small.
As mentioned before, Blake passed away 10 years ago from the disease at the age of 22. He fought, and fought hard, but was called back to his Father in Heaven despite having multiple rounds of chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants. Jared has luckily caught MDS in its early stages before it has developed into leukemia. We are hopeful that his chemo treatments along with a bone marrow transplant will prevent any further development into AML.
However, when Cody was diagnosed, he was diagnosed with full-blown leukemia. In April, Cody started feeling very achy and sick. His wife, Kirsten, was also not feeling well at the same time. Given the symptoms, doctors assumed that they both had caught COVID. For some reason, they elected not to test either of them but required that they quarantine in their home.
As Kirsten got better, Cody got progressively worse. Eventually, he ended up in the hospital with a terrible fever and infection in his back. A COVID test was then done, which turned up negative. Upon further testing, they determined that Cody had Acute Myeloid Leukemia, brought on by an undiagnosed case of MDS. We had no idea Cody had MDS until it had blossomed into an incredibly aggressive form of AML. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to catch his condition while still in the pre-leukemia condition. Doctors believe Cody’s MDS likely turned into leukemia in a matter of days or even hours.
Cody has since gone through multiple rounds of chemotherapy and extended stays in the hospital. The infection in his back made things much more difficult since the leukemia was preventing his body from fighting the infection, and it wasn’t very responsive to antibiotics. Miraculously the infection eventually was suppressed, and the doctors were able to resume the chemotherapy treatments. Cody went through weeks of ups and downs, eventually resorting to the strongest chemotherapy treatment the doctors could give since the leukemia wasn’t responding enough to allow for a bone marrow transplant.
As you can imagine, the mental and emotional toll has been incredibly exhausting – for Cody, his parents, his wife, his daughters, and all of us who care so much for him. He was told many times that his chances of surviving are incredibly slim. And as anyone who has gone through chemotherapy knows, the physical impact on your body is enough to snuff out any hope one might have.
And through all of this, Cody was alone. Due to COVID, no one could be with him in the hospital. His wife was allowed in a handful of times for limited minutes (not hours). His parents flew to Tennessee for 3 weeks but weren’t allowed to see their son even one time. Many times, we wondered if he was going to die alone in a hospital room, without his wife or parents being able to even see him one last time.
Last week we got the news that Cody’s cancer is too aggressive for all available treatments and there is nothing more the hospital can do. He has a bone marrow donor ready and waiting, but a transplant is impossible with the number of cancer cells still in his body. The last glimmer of hope now is a clinical trial at MD Anderson in Houston. Cody and his wife Kirsten flew to Houston this week to understand the options for treatment.
And this is where Cody could use some help. He and Kirsten are likely to have to be in Houston for at least 2 months. Their insurance is only covering some of the cost of the treatment, travel, and time away from work. The cost that is not covered will be about $50,000. For Cody to be able to receive this potentially life-saving treatment, they need to find a way to raise that money – they have already exhausted other savings as they have fought for the past few months.
If you can help monetarily, please consider donating to Cody’s cause! My heart breaks for Cody, his wife and daughters, as well as for my parents who are watching their three sons all battle this disease. I pray that they don’t have to see another son lose the fight.
I know it’s hard times right now for all of us. If you are unable to donate, please support Cody with your prayers. We believe in a merciful God that listens to His children’s pleas and can perform miracles, if it is His will.
And please spread the word! #StrombergStrong
For some background, MDS is a “pre-leukemia” disease that, in 1 of 3 patients, will develop into Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). It typically affects adults over 60 years old and is rarely found in younger, otherwise healthy adults like my brothers. Typical treatment involves chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
MDS is also very rare – only ~15,000 cases are identified annually in the U.S. (for context, that’s 0.005% of the population), and about 50,000 people currently have it (or 0.02%). What’s also very rare? The chance that someone with MDS will have a sibling that develops the disease also. Doctors peg that at a 2% chance. If chances are 0.02% that a single person develops MDS, then 2% that a single sibling will also have it…I’m not good at math, but I think the chances that all three of my brothers develop the disease is pretty dang small.
As mentioned before, Blake passed away 10 years ago from the disease at the age of 22. He fought, and fought hard, but was called back to his Father in Heaven despite having multiple rounds of chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants. Jared has luckily caught MDS in its early stages before it has developed into leukemia. We are hopeful that his chemo treatments along with a bone marrow transplant will prevent any further development into AML.
However, when Cody was diagnosed, he was diagnosed with full-blown leukemia. In April, Cody started feeling very achy and sick. His wife, Kirsten, was also not feeling well at the same time. Given the symptoms, doctors assumed that they both had caught COVID. For some reason, they elected not to test either of them but required that they quarantine in their home.
As Kirsten got better, Cody got progressively worse. Eventually, he ended up in the hospital with a terrible fever and infection in his back. A COVID test was then done, which turned up negative. Upon further testing, they determined that Cody had Acute Myeloid Leukemia, brought on by an undiagnosed case of MDS. We had no idea Cody had MDS until it had blossomed into an incredibly aggressive form of AML. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to catch his condition while still in the pre-leukemia condition. Doctors believe Cody’s MDS likely turned into leukemia in a matter of days or even hours.
Cody has since gone through multiple rounds of chemotherapy and extended stays in the hospital. The infection in his back made things much more difficult since the leukemia was preventing his body from fighting the infection, and it wasn’t very responsive to antibiotics. Miraculously the infection eventually was suppressed, and the doctors were able to resume the chemotherapy treatments. Cody went through weeks of ups and downs, eventually resorting to the strongest chemotherapy treatment the doctors could give since the leukemia wasn’t responding enough to allow for a bone marrow transplant.
As you can imagine, the mental and emotional toll has been incredibly exhausting – for Cody, his parents, his wife, his daughters, and all of us who care so much for him. He was told many times that his chances of surviving are incredibly slim. And as anyone who has gone through chemotherapy knows, the physical impact on your body is enough to snuff out any hope one might have.
And through all of this, Cody was alone. Due to COVID, no one could be with him in the hospital. His wife was allowed in a handful of times for limited minutes (not hours). His parents flew to Tennessee for 3 weeks but weren’t allowed to see their son even one time. Many times, we wondered if he was going to die alone in a hospital room, without his wife or parents being able to even see him one last time.
Last week we got the news that Cody’s cancer is too aggressive for all available treatments and there is nothing more the hospital can do. He has a bone marrow donor ready and waiting, but a transplant is impossible with the number of cancer cells still in his body. The last glimmer of hope now is a clinical trial at MD Anderson in Houston. Cody and his wife Kirsten flew to Houston this week to understand the options for treatment.
And this is where Cody could use some help. He and Kirsten are likely to have to be in Houston for at least 2 months. Their insurance is only covering some of the cost of the treatment, travel, and time away from work. The cost that is not covered will be about $50,000. For Cody to be able to receive this potentially life-saving treatment, they need to find a way to raise that money – they have already exhausted other savings as they have fought for the past few months.
If you can help monetarily, please consider donating to Cody’s cause! My heart breaks for Cody, his wife and daughters, as well as for my parents who are watching their three sons all battle this disease. I pray that they don’t have to see another son lose the fight.
I know it’s hard times right now for all of us. If you are unable to donate, please support Cody with your prayers. We believe in a merciful God that listens to His children’s pleas and can perform miracles, if it is His will.
And please spread the word! #StrombergStrong
Organizer and beneficiary
Jacee McGuire
Organizer
Kaysville, UT
Kirsten Stromberg
Beneficiary
