Help Will Pemberton fight cancer

This past December 26, Will and Mary Pemberton welcomed their sixth child into the world - Eleanor Juliana Joy Pemberton. Just over a week later, Will went into the hospital with some concerning symptoms. Doctors discovered a large, cancerous tumour growing in his kidney. 

Since then, the bad news has kept coming. On Feb. 5, Will had emergency surgery to remove the entire affected kidney.  At the time, the hope was that this surgery was the end of the story. However, in late April the pathology report came back. As expected, the tumour had indeed been malignant (renal carcinoma - a particularly ferocious form of cancer). But the unexpected and discouraging news was that the cancer had invaded the lymph system, affecting three lymph nodes near the kidney, raising concerns that the  cancer has migrated elsewhere in Will's body.

With this news it became clear that Will and Mary and their six young children are in this battle for the long haul. Will's oncologist and other doctors are examining treatment options, including surgery to remove the affected lymph nodes, followed up with immunotherapy to attack the  cancer and prevent further cancer growth.   

In the meantime, Will and Mary are facing enormous uncertainty. Three years ago they picked up their family from Ontario and moved to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, to pursue their dream of building a small-scale, organic market farm. Even in the best of times, starting a farm from scratch and bringing produce to market is a multi-year process. Will is one of the hardest working men I know. But with Will's health in limbo, and further surgeries and treatments on the horizon, that process will be further drawn out, with critical projects necessary to see the farm bringing in sufficient income delayed for an indefinite amount of time. And with a brand new baby in the house and a sick husband, Mary won't be able to go back to work anytime soon.  

Those of us who know the Pembertons and enjoy the gift of their friendship have experienced their incredible generosity and basked in their infectious joie de vivre. They are responding to this series of setbacks with typical aplomb and fighting spirit. But there's no question that they could use some sunshine in the midst of the rain.

Right now Will and Mary need to be able to focus on Will's health, without the additional anxiety of figuring out how to meet their day-to-day expenses, let alone the additional expenses created by this health crisis. In addition to conventional treatments, Will is exploring lifestyle changes that will give him the best fighting chance of routing the cancer, including dietary changes and cancer-fighting supplements, etc. This all costs money.

The hope is that we can give Will and Mary the financial help they need to be able to focus 100% of their energies on Will's health, ensuring that their young family's husband and father is around for a long, long, long time to come. Please join this  campaign, and pitch in whatever you can to support this amazing family. And whether you're able to give or not, it goes without saying that Will and Mary and the whole family would deeply appreciate your prayers during this time.