Joe Baumgardner Treatment Fund

On March 8th 2023, Joe was heading back from a trip to Charleston, SC when he began experiencing difficulty reading and speaking. Later that evening, CT scans determined that he had 2 small masses in his brain and was scheduled for surgery. After the removal of a superficial mass and the biopsy of a deeper mass he was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer called Glioblastoma.

Shortly after, he underwent another successful craniotomy at Duke University to remove the deeper mass. Although, due to the nature of this aggressive commonly reoccurring cancer, he was then referred to radiation and chemo therapies post operation.

After completing this next stage of treatment, he was referred to a few clinical trials which offer the most advanced options available for treating this complex disease. Oncologists from Dana Farber Institute in Boston referred Joe to a new study being conducted in Southern Germany which offers the most specialized forms of treatment available to ward off glioblastoma recurrence. This team of oncologists is creating a custom vaccine according to his genomic sequence which he will receive in Germany every 6 weeks over the next 12 months.

With this treatment only offered outside of the United States, there is a heavy financial burden placed on patients who no longer have insurance to supplement medical expenses. This GoFundMe has been created to help offset some of that burden.

Joe has been extremely resilient through the surgeries and early treatments as he is with every aspect of life. He is back to his favorite hobbies of pickleball, mountain biking, and playing trivia at local restaurants/breweries. These kind of treatments and medical advancements ensure that he will continue to do so for many many years to come. If you know Joe or you see him around Lexington, you know that he’s one to always get the job done! #GeauxJoe