HELP our brother fighting brain cancer

Hello,

I'm Fiona, Jake's sister, and together with our big sister Kelly, we are reaching out to ask for help for our brother in his time of need.

Let me introduce you to my little brother Jake. He is humble, hardworking and generous. He is kind and caring, and while he is a man of few words - he is sensitive and thoughtful. He feels things deeply and cares for others beautifully. In 2016 our family was rocked by the discovery that Jake had a Grade 2 brain tumour. He underwent surgery and it was a success, with the tumour removed. We thought that was the end of it. But eight years later, in March 2024, Jake had a series of seizures. Our hearts dropped; we knew what that meant. The tumour had grown back. We were all so rattled, how can this be happening again? And why now?

We as a family have been through a lot this year. We lost our beautiful dad to cancer in February - a loss we are yet to comprehend. Amidst this grief our brother Jake and his lovely fiancé Crystal moved into their first home, and then welcomed their gorgeous baby girl Evie in May. She is 4 months old now. And at a time when Jake and Crystal should be revelling in that newborn smell and the joy of starting a family and creating a home, they have been rocked by stress, sadness and uncertainty.

Jake underwent surgery to have the tumour removed; and while the surgery was a success, they sadly could not remove the entire tumour. The biopsy confirmed that the tumour was a Grade 3 Astrocytoma, and he will need 6 weeks of radiation and 12 months of chemotherapy.

And as if this wasn't enough to process, Jake has been hit with more adversity. Six weeks post op, when he should have been healed from surgery and was getting ready to begin radiation, Jake noticed a large amount of swelling around his eye and face. A trip to the Emergency Department and an MRI detected a significant infection that would require surgery to fix. This surgery involved following the previous incision, removing the infected bone, and cleaning the infected tissue. He woke up without a large part of his skull and now has 6 weeks of IV antibiotics. In 3 months, after his radiation, he will go in for his fourth surgery to replace the missing bone with a plate. This is so overwhelming and so much for us, his family to comprehend, let alone Jake. And while we are so grateful for the efforts of those trying to save Jake's life, we can't help but feel that this is 3 steps backwards in the journey.

We can't quite fathom how much Jake has had to endure, and in true Jake style, he is handling it like an absolute champ. His phrase through it all is, "It is what it is." And I have never heard him complain.

We as a family feel helpless; we don't know how to face this journey. It feels as though we are at the base of Mount Everest and have no idea how to tackle this mountain. We feel so sad for our brother, 34, just starting his life: a fiancé, his first home and a precious newborn. Now facing the fight of his life, not even 12 months after our beautiful dad fought and lost his battle with cancer.

We are hoping to do something that can offer some reprieve from the constant stress and worry. Jake will need to take considerable time off work while he undergoes treatment. We are hoping to raise enough money to offer financial support during this time. We know times are tough right now but appreciate anything you can spare.