Help Bill Morgan recover from Throat Cancer
Donation protected
Bill Morgan needs your help with his battle against throat cancer. After a miraculous surgery and positive prognosis, Bill’s health insurance will no longer cover his continuance of care with the doctors that saved him. Since January 2019 he has been paying for his follow-up care, including another surgery, out of pocket and he needs all of our help! He is too proud to ask, so we are asking for him.
Bill is a loving father, family member and friend. And EVERYBODY loves Bill.
As an athlete and native Californian, watersports are a huge part of Bill’s life. One of Bill’s greatest joys was teaching Alexis, his only child, how to surf at a very young age. It was their passion and bonding experience. Alexis (pictured in his profile) became a competitive surfer and Bill never missed a competition and was out in the surf almost daily to coach her.
When Bill was diagnosed with throat cancer, he got opinions on treatment options from all the top cancer centers in Southern California. All of them recommended a total laryngectomy to remove the cancer as that is the “standard of care” procedure in CA. This would mean that even with a successful surgery that left him cancer free, he would no longer be able to submerge in water. It also meant that he would need a voice prosthesis to speak. Even the best outcome, being cancer-free, would come at the price of being devastating to his lifestyle and his career in sales.
Luckily, this is not the end of the story. family members of Bill found a specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona with a procedure using specialized equipment and the unique skill to perform a partial laryngectomy on patients like Bill. If successful, the cancer could be removed leaving some of the voice box intact, and no permanent hole in his neck. This would mean retaining some ability to speak with his natural voice and he would still be able to surf! After being examined at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. David Lott determined that Bill was a good candidate for the surgery.
Bill’s 13 hour surgery in December 2018 was a success! Dr. Lott said he had good confidence he removed all the cancer, and remarkably, left 50% of Bill’s voice box intact! Even Dr. Lott was surprised and impressed with the outcome, and Bill became a very special patient to him. During Bill’s recovery period at Mayo, he had a complication resulting in a code blue. Dr. Lott, who was in surgery at the time, got word that Bill was bleeding out and left his surgery to go tend to Bill. He was not going to risk letting anyone else work on Bill. The bleeding was stopped, and Bill was stabilized. Bill’s recovery was back on track.
Bill will not be “out of the woods” until he is cancer-free for 5 years, which means periodic examinations during the entire 5 year period. It’s no surprise that Bill only trusts Dr. Lott’s evaluation and care, and Dr. Lott feels the same way. During a visit in April, Dr. Lott saw an obstruction in Bill’s throat that he believed to be scar tissue, but needed to be removed and biopsied to make sure it was not cancer. It was during this time that Bill learned from his insurance company that as of January 2019, out of state treatment would no longer be covered except for emergency treatment. This left Bill in a horrible position; if he were to have treatment by a covered provider in California, the “standard of care” would be complete removal of his voice box. Bill had to pay out of pocket for the procedure to remove the scar tissue. Dr. Lott was able to remove the growth without further damage to the vocal cords, and the biopsy was negative! It’s easy to understand why Bill only trusts Dr. Lott for his continuance of care after what he has been through. The good news is Bill’s voice is improving, he can go in the water, and to date, he is cancer free.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 to help with the out of pocket expenses that he has already incurred, and to get $1000/month in recurring donations to help with his continuation of care expenses he will incur over the next 5 years. Luckily Bill has a ton of good friends and family that love him and want to see him get the care he needs without going into debt.
LET’S DO THIS FOR BILLY BOY!
Bill is a loving father, family member and friend. And EVERYBODY loves Bill.
As an athlete and native Californian, watersports are a huge part of Bill’s life. One of Bill’s greatest joys was teaching Alexis, his only child, how to surf at a very young age. It was their passion and bonding experience. Alexis (pictured in his profile) became a competitive surfer and Bill never missed a competition and was out in the surf almost daily to coach her.
When Bill was diagnosed with throat cancer, he got opinions on treatment options from all the top cancer centers in Southern California. All of them recommended a total laryngectomy to remove the cancer as that is the “standard of care” procedure in CA. This would mean that even with a successful surgery that left him cancer free, he would no longer be able to submerge in water. It also meant that he would need a voice prosthesis to speak. Even the best outcome, being cancer-free, would come at the price of being devastating to his lifestyle and his career in sales.
Luckily, this is not the end of the story. family members of Bill found a specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona with a procedure using specialized equipment and the unique skill to perform a partial laryngectomy on patients like Bill. If successful, the cancer could be removed leaving some of the voice box intact, and no permanent hole in his neck. This would mean retaining some ability to speak with his natural voice and he would still be able to surf! After being examined at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. David Lott determined that Bill was a good candidate for the surgery.
Bill’s 13 hour surgery in December 2018 was a success! Dr. Lott said he had good confidence he removed all the cancer, and remarkably, left 50% of Bill’s voice box intact! Even Dr. Lott was surprised and impressed with the outcome, and Bill became a very special patient to him. During Bill’s recovery period at Mayo, he had a complication resulting in a code blue. Dr. Lott, who was in surgery at the time, got word that Bill was bleeding out and left his surgery to go tend to Bill. He was not going to risk letting anyone else work on Bill. The bleeding was stopped, and Bill was stabilized. Bill’s recovery was back on track.
Bill will not be “out of the woods” until he is cancer-free for 5 years, which means periodic examinations during the entire 5 year period. It’s no surprise that Bill only trusts Dr. Lott’s evaluation and care, and Dr. Lott feels the same way. During a visit in April, Dr. Lott saw an obstruction in Bill’s throat that he believed to be scar tissue, but needed to be removed and biopsied to make sure it was not cancer. It was during this time that Bill learned from his insurance company that as of January 2019, out of state treatment would no longer be covered except for emergency treatment. This left Bill in a horrible position; if he were to have treatment by a covered provider in California, the “standard of care” would be complete removal of his voice box. Bill had to pay out of pocket for the procedure to remove the scar tissue. Dr. Lott was able to remove the growth without further damage to the vocal cords, and the biopsy was negative! It’s easy to understand why Bill only trusts Dr. Lott for his continuance of care after what he has been through. The good news is Bill’s voice is improving, he can go in the water, and to date, he is cancer free.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 to help with the out of pocket expenses that he has already incurred, and to get $1000/month in recurring donations to help with his continuation of care expenses he will incur over the next 5 years. Luckily Bill has a ton of good friends and family that love him and want to see him get the care he needs without going into debt.
LET’S DO THIS FOR BILLY BOY!
Organizer and beneficiary
Lynn Brueckner Morgan
Organizer
San Clemente, CA
William Morgan
Beneficiary