John Hoffman

Hello racetrack friends. I’m sorry to be writing this on behalf of our good friend John Hoffman. John has been on the racetrack, mostly midwest circuits and Fl for the last 47 years. He has been at Palm Meadows for the last 13 years as stall man and general manager, and retired from that position in late March. What began as an earache and nagging cough, he has learned what we all fear - he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphatic Throat Cancer. It came on very quickly and they are starting treatment immediately.  Like many out there, due to the rising cost of healthcare, he has only medicare to provide for him. The BEST news that the doctors gave him is that this IS a curable condition. He will most likely lose his sense of taste due to the extreme radiation on his taste buds. He will also undergo chemotherapy treatments which will start most likely this week. Today he had the port put in for the chemo to begin and has an appointment of some sort everyday this week. Soon he’ll have the stomach tube in place as he will not be able to swallow once the radiation begins which will be very soon. He is somewhat still in the shock phase, as I was when I heard the news. John has been a great friend to all of us and was always there with a smile (and usually a joke) to help out whoever he could. He has a long road ahead of him and needs all the strength he can muster.  He needs our help and support! Cancer CAN be cured, but we all know it is a VERY expensive procedure and he is responsible for what medicare will not cover. There are recommended medications that medicare does not cover at all. It is now our turn to rally and help one of our own. We don't want John to have to stress because medicare won't cover certain expenses and therefore he would not be eligible for certain treatments.  Please give what you can as a way to help him cover expenses and lighten the load of his stress level from the financial aspect.