My name is Michael Yarges. I am not one who asks for help or even reaches out for help, but I have to swallow my pride and open myself up to the generosity of others and ask. I am a husband to a very loving wife and a father to the most perfect little girl, both of whom mean the world to me and have given me the strength to overcome this obstacle in my life.

Back in April 2024, I was diagnosed with esophageal and thyroid cancer. Since then, I have undergone and completed the radiation and chemotherapy on August 30th. I am now recovering from that, and over the next couple of weeks, I will have another PET scan to see if they worked. If all goes according to plan, I will then undergo surgery to remove 30% of my stomach and most of my esophagus.

Updated as of Oct 15th 2024

The latest PET Scan showed a very good response to the treatments. Unfortunately, they have found several new spots that have formed on my bones. I am told that the previous surgery will not happen because of the metastasize cancer. We will be starting a 6 month new round of intensive treatments to try and manage the growth. However the new chemo and immunotherapy will be a new challenge for us as we will be needing more time away from our jobs.

The last round of chemotherapy has proven to be working. However it won't work forever. Hopefully science will have better drugs and ever a cure when that happens. Until then I am doing better but there is still a long and hard fight in front of me.

This brings me to here, asking for help.