Help Fund Bryan's Cancer Bills

Hello, my Name is Bryan, and I need your help!!

I am a dedicated Husband and Father to two adorable children. I have spent my working life as a musician trying to bring joy to as many as I could through music.

But in 2022, I was dealt the devastating news that I have stage 4 colon cancer!

When you hear stage 4, you automatically think, "I'm a dead man." To those who don't know, stage 4 means it may have started in the colon but it has now spread to other parts of the body, known as "metastasizing." Though I have had surgery to remove the tumors in my intestine (for which I spent 9 months with a colostomy bag), and surgery to reverse the colostomy and make me "whole" again, I now have cancerous lesions on my liver, which is quite a common place for colon cancer to spread to. I have also had surgery to have those lesions removed, but more grew back in their place. I have undergone a year and a half of chemotherapy (Folfox and Erbitux), and that has been extremely hard, but it has also "done the trick!"

In spite of the difficulty of that fight, I have managed (so far) to beat the odds!

It has been over a year since my diagnosis, and I am doing very well. I can't say that I'm in remission yet, but I'm doing everything I can to be there for my family for as long as I can! My lesions are shrinking and everything is going the right way for me. I am so very thankful to all my doctors for everything they have done for me. Modern medicine is miraculous!

Anyone who knows me would eagerly share with you how fiercely independent I am, and that I have a difficult time accepting help from anyone. It is not in my nature to ask for (or accept) help, even when it is offered. Which is what makes writing this so hard...

Cancer is expensive! It costs you physically, it costs you mentally, and it costs you financially. I have been unable to work as a musician for over a year now because of stamina and muscle fatigue from the chemo. Being a small-time working musician doesn't pay very well, but being an out-of-work musician pays nothing. I am lucky enough to be married to a wonderful woman who is a teacher, but that doesn't exactly bring in a fortune either. Without her support, I would not have made it. She has truly been my rock! I am covered under her insurance which has done the "Lion's Share" of lifting when it comes to paying for my cancer bills.

A 4 day hospital stay alone, will run you about $25K-$35K, and I have had several of those.

Surgeries can cost even more, and are often paired with long hospital stays for recovery.

Chemotherapy can cost up to $10k per session, and I've had over a year's worth of sessions every 2 weeks.

That is why I am here asking for your help! The medical bills have added up, and the cost is more than I can bear on my own. I know these are difficult times for everyone, but I would greatly appreciate any financial assistance you would be willing to offer. I'm not asking for your life's savings,... any small donation helps! As my grandma would've said, "Many small hands make easy the lifting!"

I have set the goal for this GoFundMe at $40k as that would help me to get back on my feet financially. However, if we can exceed that goal to completely pay these bills, that would be appreciated too!

Please also feel free to share this with your community of friends through social media or other means as well.

I love you all for even considering helping me in my time of need!

Thank you!!