Help Rick (Richard) Lunn in His Fight

Ever since I was young, my dad has always been my hero, someone I've always looked up to, someone that has always tried to teach me right from wrong. Even in my thirties, I still consider my dad my hero and always will be. Richard Lunn, unfortunately and unexpectedly, was diagnosed with cancer. For those who know this prideful man, know that he would never ask for help, has never asked for help, and never will.

Given the circumstances, with treatment, being out of work, and other unknown expenses, any donations can help go a long way. Unsure of how exactly he will feel about me creating this fundraiser, my father has had my back ever since I was born and helped me in more ways than I can count, whether teaching me a very tough life lesson or mentoring me about life and how to be a better person. So, I figured the least I can try and do is create this GoFundMe, hoping that it can help in some little way. For those that know this selfless man, know that he would give you the shirt off his back, he would give you his last penny, and would let you borrow what tool you needed ( our racetrack family) Rick is in the process filing for short-term disability but as most of us know it pays less than 50% of what he makes. With his co-pays and now one possibly two medical procedures co-pays and all of the other meds that would be prescribed to take home, and the weeks of work that will be missed due to the radiation and chemo side effects. We ask if you could please donate what you can. Any amount would help in more ways then one. If your are unable to donate at this time, we ask you please keep Richard in your positive thoughts.

UPDATE: on July 12th Rick will be getting a procedure to get port (central line) put in his chest. Also there was discussion of Rick also getting a GJ tube (feeding tube) within the next several weeks or sooner. This coming Monday July 15th, Richard will be getting his first round of chemo and radiation although Alternatives were sought after but unfortunately was out of the question due to very expensive cost (most not accepting of any medical insurance and requires out of pocket pay) and also having to travel thousands of miles out of state. Although the tumor has grown since his last scan 2 months I go. A little over a week ago the tumor started bleeding which caused Rick to seek medical attention at a local Binghamton hospital. The hospital being concerned and not equipped to deal with his situation he was transferred to SUNY upstate Medical University in Syracuse, then he was sent to the ICU as a precautionary measure. The plan at the time was to cauterize the tumor to stop it from bleeding which in turn could have been fatal for Rick because if the bleeding continued and or have gotten worse, there is a possibility of blood getting into his lungs and ultimately drowning ( gruesome I know) But luckily the bleeding stopped and a few days later he was sent home. I will try and keep updates as best as I can.

UPDATE 7/23: Rick is tolerating radiation and chemo fairly well.. Although he does talk slightly different from the direct radiation on the tumor and although there is pain where the tumor is located every now and again, for the most part he is tolerating the treatment fairly well. Although it is only the start of the treatment and we were told between week 3-5 is where he may experience the worst side effects, such as little to extreme nausea, some hair thinning and or hair loss, decreased appetite, weight loss depression, mild to extreme fatigue and painful swallowing, ETC, (that's where the feeding tube may come into play) Other than that from the last PET scan and lab work the cancer has not spread ( thank god) and during treatment Rick will be immunocompromised, but was told after some time has passed, allowing for his cells will recover, so will his immune system so he will not immunocompromised forever. With a massive intake in fluids and the ketogenic diet (keto diet) with little to no sugar diet to help stop the cancer from spreading ( depriving cancer cells of sugar can help caner cells to die) hopefully with radiation chemo treatment, specialized diet and the massive intake of fluids we're hoping for the best! Rick is not someone to take this without a fight! We want to thank every single person that has donated so far to help Rick with all of the medical expenses and co-pays and every other cancer related expense he will be facing. We also want to thank everyone for all of the messages to Rick wishing him the best and hoping for the best. We appreciate and love you all!