Josh's Army: A Cancer Fundraiser for Josh Schwarz

Days after Thanksgiving 2017, Josh Schwarz, 37, was given the devastating news...It’s Cancer… Squamous Cell Carcinoma to be exact. Three weeks later, he was in an operating room for fifteen hours at St. Luke’s Hospital, as surgeons removed the malignant tumor, 1/3 of his tongue, and lymph nodes at the back of his mouth, and neck; followed by extensive reconstruction. After an extremely tough week in surgical ICU, he was able to go home, just in time for Christmas, to prepare for the next phase of recovery. With speech therapy and proactive measures planned – including radiation and chemotherapy - to prevent the cancer from returning, he knew he had a long road ahead of him. After weeks of healing, post-surgery, Josh endured another 9 weeks of outpatient treatment to kill the cancer cells in his body. There was joy all around when he rang the victory bell on his last day; as these were truly some of the hardest weeks of his life. As the Josh we all know and love, he kept his unwavering positive outlook on life; spending time with his family, friends, co-workers and guiding students to be the best version of themselves at the junior high school, where he works as an Assistant Principal. He regained his strength, and abilities that we may easily take for granted every day. After some time, Josh found his new normal. Life was good! Fast forward to January 2019: Josh met with his doctors for a routine post-Cancer checkup. Unfortunately, the results weren’t what we hoped for. The Squamous Cell Carcinoma is back, with a vengeance. Josh is now quickly preparing for a second surgery to remove the tumor on his lung. And, we are all ready to fight with him. However, he's still paying back the medical debt from the first round of care received during surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. So, this is where we PRAY HARD, and ASK FOR YOUR HELP. Josh’s surgery and post-op chemotherapy are going to be very expensive, over the next six months. We really, really, need your support. Please donate anything you can, today, to help Josh #DestroyCancer Thank you, so, so much for all of your love, support, and prayers. They are always welcome!