Hi. My name is Shannon Silvers. I'm writing this on behalf of my Uncle, Corey Rock. Corey has had to hear those dreaded 3 words "You have cancer" twice now in his life.. two times more than anyone in this world needs to hear them.

Uncle Corey has always had a vibrant, positive, upbeat personality. He was the fun uncle who was always teasing and playing with his nephews and nieces. I've always known him to be generous and willing to help in whatever way he could. Several years ago, my family underwent some extreme financial difficulties. Uncle Corey immediately offered to help us even though I knew he wasn't swimming in a pool of cash. I will always be grateful for his generous spirit.

His love of music and entertainment started before he started school with playing records, dancing, singing, and playing the piano. Once he graduated college, it just made sense for him to gravitate to the music and entertainment industry. So in 1986, he started a small business as a DJ. It was such a thrill for him to help create the musical soundtrack for people's life events like weddings, prom dances, and Christmas parties.

Back in 1999, Corey had his first cancer diagnosis. He was a young, strong, active, hardworking guy who loved his family and his profession. He tackled that fight like he had tackled any challenge in his life -head-on and no giving up. He beat it and fully recovered, relieved to have that nightmare behind him.

Through all that, Corey built and expanded his DJ career into a very successful entertainment business. He has played for over a thousand events. The thrill he gets seeing people celebrate life through dancing is what makes his job fun, exciting and never boring - He still brings the same level of energy to the dance floor as he did 36 years ago.

But all that changed in November of 2022. He had been struggling with various health challenges since 2018 but attributed it all to complications of Lyme disease. But it became apparent after a couple of years that something more had to be going on.. He had to quit his regular workout routine due to the extreme pain and the injuries he would sustain from the simplest of activities. The loss of muscle strength made it impossible for him to continue his DJ business. He couldn't lift any of his equipment and had no energy to perform. Corey had been a fitness fanatic since high school and took pride in his level of fitness. But now, he could no longer do either of the things that were his passions in life. As a result, he lost his only source of income.

After many doctor visits and multitudes of tests, Uncle Corey was diagnosed with an incurable cancer called Multiple Myeloma in December of 2022.

At least he had an answer to why he had gone downhill so fast, but it wasn't a good one at all. Multiple Myeloma is cancer that forms in the plasma white blood cells. Normal plasma cells help you fight infections by making antibodies that recognize and attack germs. With MM, cancerous plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy blood cells. Instead of helpful antibodies, the cancer cells produce abnormal proteins. These proteins are causing Uncle Corey's bones to dissolve. If that sounds awful, it is. I can't imagine the level of chronic pain caused by these bones disintegrating. That is why lifting anything remotely heavy is impossible for him to do.

His treatment involves a weekly injected Chemo drug called Valcade. In addition, Corey has had radiation therapy. One of his cancer drugs is so poisonous that people are warned not to handle the container it is in due to the serious side effects that it causes. Later this spring, Uncle Corey is planning on undergoing a stem cell transplant. During that time, he will be completely isolated and quarantined to bed for approximately 4-6 weeks since he will have no immune system at all. Even after all of that, the best outcome that can be hoped for is remission for a while - maybe a handful of years. And then he has to start this whole process over again.

As you can well imagine, the doctor & hospital bills are and will continue to be astronomical. As a self-employed person in the entertainment world, Corey has no employer-funded health insurance to rely on.

His goal is to get healthy enough to continue pursuing his life's passions - DJing and regular exercise. Not having to worry about his medical bills will help reduce his stress and anxiety and help him to shift his focus inward so he can heal.

My Uncle Corey is a true cancer warrior. Please help him be able to continue his fight. We can't make his cancer disappear, but we can help alleviate the financial strain it causes for him.

I thank you for any amount of help you can send for him.