Help James fight cancer- UPDATED November 28th

In June of 2023 I developed a small bump next to my eye along with some sinus pressure. After my first visit to the doctor on June 23rd I was told that they thought I was having some allergy problems and sent on my way with a steroid and some Flonase. 10 days later I returned to see my primary care provider as the sinus pressure continued to build and the small bump that was about the size of a piece of rice had grown significantly to about the size of a marble and was causing swelling throughout the left side of my face.

My primary care provider, ordered a CT Scan at that point and referred me to an ENT Doctor to be treated for a condition called Dacryocystcele (a cyst in the lacrimal sac of the eye). The ENT Doc confirmed that this is what he thought it was and scheduled me for surgery on August 23rd to have cyst removed.

Unfortunately, it was during this surgery that the doctor discovered a tumor that was later diagnosed as Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lacrimal Sac.

While Squamous Cell Carcinoma's are in themselves fairly common (and associated with skin cancer), my tumor was very rare being that it originated in the Lacrimal Sac of the eye (less than 400 published cases)

Since then, I've been through multiple scans, MRI's and tests and now have surgery scheduled for October 12th. The upcoming surgery is a major life changing event for me as they will remove the tumor with skin and remove bone in my orbital socket and nose that has been compromised by the cancerous tumor. Then the surgeons will take an artery and skin from my arm to be transplanted to my face. They will also take bone from either my head or my arm which they will use to rebuild my orbital socket and nose. They will then graft skin taken from my thigh to my arm to help reduce the scarring there. The doctors also said that I will have to have further surgeries in the coming years to help smooth the skin from the transplant.

Last Friday, we were dealt worse news as after reviewing the MRI and PET Scans the team of surgeons believes that my left eye has been compromised and that they will most likely have to remove the eye in surgery on the 12th.

Your help will be used to cover hospital bills, as well as assist my family with their living expenses in the coming months.

UPDATE: The surgery on October 12th went well and much to our surprise I was able to keep the eye! While this is great news it also means that I will need to travel to Orlando to receive a special type of radiation treatment called Proton Radiation Therapy. Unfortunately, Carrie and I are not in a position where both of us can be away from home for the 6-7 weeks that will be required for treatment so I will be traveling and living in a hotel during this time (We looked into staying with HOPE Lodge but they require a caretaker stay with you).

While being away from home and family is not ideal over the holidays, we are committed to getting the proper treatment as quickly as possible.

2 weeks after the surgery to remove the tumor from my face we were hit with another hurdle when my pathology labs came back showing that in addition to the Squamous Cell Carcinoma tumor in my face, I also had thyroid cancer and would need an additional surgery.

On November 15th, the docs successfully removed my thyroid. During this surgery they found that my thyroid cancer (Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma- stage 4) had spread into the surrounding tissue in my neck. While this cancer is common and treatable it will require additional radiation treatments in Omaha when I return from Orlando.

In a perfect world all of this would have happened in the same calendar year so that we would have maxed out of pocket expenses one time. Now that treatment is rolling into 2024 we are faced with maxing out our Insurance out of pocket expenses again, as well as additional expenses for travel, transportation and lodging in Orlando, and extra time from work while undergoing a 2nd round of radiation.

We are doing our best to keep a positive attitude and so much appreciate everyone that has prayed, called, texted, provided meals, and donated during this time.