On Wednesday 7/27, my partner Jamal was diagnosed with cancer. He has stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He is one infusion down in a projected 6-month-long chemotherapy treatment. The doctor has assured us his prognosis is promising, but as is to be expected, we are still having a hard time coping with our new reality and the uncertainty ahead.

To make matters worse, Jamal abruptly lost his job last month due to restructuring at the organization he’d worked at for the past several years. Paying our rent and various other bills will become increasingly difficult as Jamal has to re-focus his energy from the job hunt to fighting Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We also do not know how much in medical costs we will be expected to contribute as his treatment continues.

Jamal and I decided to enter into a domestic partnership, which will make me eligible to take paid family leave so I can care for him. However, that is only going to afford me a fraction of my pay, and will not be enough to pay all of our mounting bills.

When I’m at work, or otherwise occupied, I won’t be able to cook his meals, and he will likely need to have food and groceries delivered to the home. Another major expense we are anticipating is transportation. As the chemotherapy takes its toll on Jamal’s body, he won’t be able to walk to his various appointments as we normally would. The chemotherapy will also leave Jamal immunocompromised, so we’ll have to be extra vigilant in Jamal’s exposure to the elements and other people.

Because chemotherapy can cause temporary or permanent infertility, we want to preserve his fertility through sperm banking. We have already had to pay out of pocket for this service as it needed to be accomplished before chemotherapy began.

Jamal and I both need to get back into therapy and seek support groups through his treatment. While there are many no-cost cancer patient and caregiver support groups available on-line, therapy expenses will be out-of-pocket.

Thus, we are humbly asking for donations to aid in affording the various costs that arise when undergoing treatment for cancer. For those who cannot donate monetarily, we would be incredibly appreciative of you sharing our link.

We cannot wait to be on the other side of this, and move forward with our life together. I will serve as Jamal’s primary caretaker while he is in treatment, but we are also very lucky to have so many other people who love and care for us. We are genuinely blessed to have such a strong support system and we have been blown away by all of the love we have been shown thus far by our friends and family members. We are forever grateful and will hold each of you in our hearts always.