Help Michael Beat Pancreatic Cancer
Donation protected
About a month and a half ago, Michael was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. UW hospital has given a grim prognosis of 6 months, and at this point is unwilling to operate. The doctors re-evaluated some older biopsies from earlier this spring and admitted that they had missed cancer cells at that time and would have been able to give him a diagnosis 6 months earlier. In that time the tumor in his pancreas has grown by 40-50% and now there are indications of metastasis. More options would have been available to us 6 months ago.
Michael just turned 64 in September. He is the loving father of 5 grown children, doting grandfather ("poppa") of 9 grandchildren, and husband of 39 years to Shirley.
Traditional medicine generally has few answers when it comes to pancreatic cancer. Although we don’t always know the right choices to make, we are doing the best with the options that we have. Treatment-wise, here is what we have done so far and what we are planning for the future:
1. We have placed Michael on a vegetarian Ketogenic diet that starves cancer, literally depriving it of its food source (glucose). There is much research making the case that this diet is beneficial for cancer patients.
2. Michael has just arrived in Mexico at the Hope4Cancer clinic to begin a 3-week course of intense non-toxic alternative therapies there. The clinic offers more alternative therapies for cancer than anywhere else in the world and he's getting all of them. We are optimistic that this comprehensive approach will deliver positive results. Unfortunately, this comes at a cost. His 3-week stay will cost over $53,000.
3. We have begun acquiring the components for an IV therapy that we will do at home called the PK Protocol (named after Patricia Kane) which is said to have shown tremendous results. There’s a lot to it but explained simply – the IVs alternatively boost the immune system and also detox the body. This has been used by others in conjunction with chemo and radiation therapies to great effect and additionally in conjunction with cannabis oil - also to great effect. Acquiring the components for this IV therapy has been extraordinarily difficult as many of the ingredients are only available overseas and certain licensing/credentialing is required to order some of it. In addition, the cost is prohibitive - we estimate that one month of the IV treatments could exceed $4,000.
4. Following Mexico, we are trying to get Michael a second opinion at MD Anderson in Houston, TX. They are ranked as one of the top cancer facilities in the nation, having a focused pancreatic cancer research that offers therapies that are not available anywhere else. The only snag in this option is being able to get insurance to cover MD Anderson. Michael's coverage in Wisconsin will not allow for him to go anywhere out of state and so we are attempting to get him residency in Tennessee where one of his sons lives and where he will be able to get on Blue Cross Blue Shield and then as we understand it, be in-network for MD Anderson.
Being self-employed his entire life, Michael doesn't have a big pension or social security check waiting for him. God has blessed with the opportunity to borrow enough money and coupled with the little bit of cash they had saved up - to get treatment started in Mexico. Unfortunately, its not realistic to think Michael and Shirley can continue in this way and they need help to recoup expenses already incurred and to be able to pay for expenses going forward as this is just the beginning of a tough fight.
A running tally of medical expenses so far looks something like this:
Hope 4 Cancer in Mexico - $53,000
Ongoing PK Protocol IV treatment - $4,000 per month
Miscellaneous other medical/travel expenses/treatments - $40,000
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this Gofundme campaign. Every penny of the money donated will go directly to paying off these medical expenses. Not everyone has the resources to donate, and thats ok - its just as important that we get as much visibility as possible so sharing this campaign on social media is greatly appreciated and a big help!
---
Mike Jr.
Michael just turned 64 in September. He is the loving father of 5 grown children, doting grandfather ("poppa") of 9 grandchildren, and husband of 39 years to Shirley.
Traditional medicine generally has few answers when it comes to pancreatic cancer. Although we don’t always know the right choices to make, we are doing the best with the options that we have. Treatment-wise, here is what we have done so far and what we are planning for the future:
1. We have placed Michael on a vegetarian Ketogenic diet that starves cancer, literally depriving it of its food source (glucose). There is much research making the case that this diet is beneficial for cancer patients.
2. Michael has just arrived in Mexico at the Hope4Cancer clinic to begin a 3-week course of intense non-toxic alternative therapies there. The clinic offers more alternative therapies for cancer than anywhere else in the world and he's getting all of them. We are optimistic that this comprehensive approach will deliver positive results. Unfortunately, this comes at a cost. His 3-week stay will cost over $53,000.
3. We have begun acquiring the components for an IV therapy that we will do at home called the PK Protocol (named after Patricia Kane) which is said to have shown tremendous results. There’s a lot to it but explained simply – the IVs alternatively boost the immune system and also detox the body. This has been used by others in conjunction with chemo and radiation therapies to great effect and additionally in conjunction with cannabis oil - also to great effect. Acquiring the components for this IV therapy has been extraordinarily difficult as many of the ingredients are only available overseas and certain licensing/credentialing is required to order some of it. In addition, the cost is prohibitive - we estimate that one month of the IV treatments could exceed $4,000.
4. Following Mexico, we are trying to get Michael a second opinion at MD Anderson in Houston, TX. They are ranked as one of the top cancer facilities in the nation, having a focused pancreatic cancer research that offers therapies that are not available anywhere else. The only snag in this option is being able to get insurance to cover MD Anderson. Michael's coverage in Wisconsin will not allow for him to go anywhere out of state and so we are attempting to get him residency in Tennessee where one of his sons lives and where he will be able to get on Blue Cross Blue Shield and then as we understand it, be in-network for MD Anderson.
Being self-employed his entire life, Michael doesn't have a big pension or social security check waiting for him. God has blessed with the opportunity to borrow enough money and coupled with the little bit of cash they had saved up - to get treatment started in Mexico. Unfortunately, its not realistic to think Michael and Shirley can continue in this way and they need help to recoup expenses already incurred and to be able to pay for expenses going forward as this is just the beginning of a tough fight.
A running tally of medical expenses so far looks something like this:
Hope 4 Cancer in Mexico - $53,000
Ongoing PK Protocol IV treatment - $4,000 per month
Miscellaneous other medical/travel expenses/treatments - $40,000
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this Gofundme campaign. Every penny of the money donated will go directly to paying off these medical expenses. Not everyone has the resources to donate, and thats ok - its just as important that we get as much visibility as possible so sharing this campaign on social media is greatly appreciated and a big help!
---
Mike Jr.
Organizer
Mike Castleberg
Organizer
Mineral Park, TN
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