Help Justin Stone Beat Brain Cancer!

On February 2nd, Justin suffered a sudden seizure while at his local bank. Shortly after the paramedics rushed him to the hospital, doctors informed him and his wife, Cassy, that a CT showed a mass in his brain. Five days later, he underwent a craniotomy and tumor resection at Allegheny General Hospital.

 

Justin was up and walking around the day after brain surgery, and was back home with Cassy and their two daughters, Vivienne, 6, and Lila, 2, just 36 hours later. The neurology team felt optimistic that his mass could be benign, and preliminary pathology immediately post-surgery also pointed in that direction. His recovery from surgery was going extremely well and things were starting to feel slightly normal again when he met with oncologists to receive his diagnosis: his tumor was a grade 3 astrocytoma, a form of brain cancer.

 

As soon as his surgical incision is healed, Justin will undergo several weeks of chemotherapy and radiation simultaneously. After that, he’ll continue chemotherapy for up to a year.

 

Needless to say, Justin and his family have a long road ahead. It’s only February, and Justin has already used most of his paid time off. He’ll have to use all of it before he’s able to collect short-term disability—which will amount to roughly half of his usual salary. With many doctor’s appointments and MRIs on the horizon for the rest of this year, and a planned family vacation this summer, Justin will have to go unpaid for any days beyond what he’s already used.

 

Cassy is working full-time from home while taking care of their two daughters and Justin’s needs, and will be accompanying him to as many treatments and doctor’s appointments as possible.

 

After the reality of the diagnosis set in, Justin and Cassy realized they needed help from their family, friends, and community. These funds are to ensure Justin and his family have the best quality of life they can have during such an emotionally devastating time. Though it’s easier said than done, the last thing they need to be worrying about right now is how they’ll pay a mound of medical bills and make ends meet. They’ve already been made aware of vital tests and procedures their insurance company won’t cover.

 

As so many of you already know, to meet Justin is to immediately love him. He is the epitome of a “gentle giant,” and his generous heart and top-notch humor have seen many friends and family members through their own tough times. He’s a wonderful husband to Cassy and the most loving, patient, supportive father to his two young daughters.

 

He’s one of the toughest human beings on the planet, and he will no doubt make it through treatment and live a long, full, healthy life. But he and his family can’t do it alone.

 

As one of Justin and Cassy’s good friends recently said, “I know that crazy-ass Irishman is going to fight like hell.”

 

And so he will.