Keith Dann Cancer & Relief Fund

My husband, Keith, and I are blessed to have two sons, a daughter and Grandchildren.  One of our sons contracted spinal meningitis as an infant which resulted in deafness.  We determined that he was not going to be a “special” kid or “poor little deaf kid” and thus be dependent on society.  Instead, he would be raised to be as normal as possible given the handicap.  We placed him in some special education for a period of time and then out into public schools.  Keith spent a lot of time with him in the outdoors hunting and fishing and taught him a trade.  As a result, he graduated from high school, is an avid hunter, lives successfully on his own and works full time in the electrical trade.  He is respected among friends, coworkers and employers alike.  Our other son and daughter are successfully raising their own family.  It was a struggle for us at times, but we knew that many others had burdens very much greater than ours.   We really had been blessed.

Then, five years ago Keith, contracted colon cancer.  Fortunately, it was caught relatively early and he beat it.  I worked as many hours as I could to make up for his loss of time from the job during that treatment, and with some help from family, we were able to get through that.  Additionally, his employer was instrumental in helping as much as possible to enable us to keep what insurance we had.  It was again a struggle but we made it.  Happily, interim annual checkups were all clear and his most recent, and supposedly last, annual checkup confirms no recurrence of that colon cancer.  Again blessed.

Sadly, the tests from that last annual checkup in November 2014 revealed the existence of a couple tumors in other organs.  Quite a shock!  Keith is not a quitter and will fight this as well.  Keith has begun a stringent regimen of chemo treatment at a cancer center in Orlando, Florida.  Tests after the first couple of treatments indicate that cancer cells are, in fact, being attacked and affected by the chemo.  Based on those results, he has been prescribed a 6 month regimen of that treatment every two weeks.  After that, we expect he will be able to continue self-administered and hopefully lower dose pills at home for a period of time.  He is a fighter and with God’s help he will beat this; or at least have several more years to spend with his immediate and extended family.   

Keith has stubbornly struggled with his pride and conscience about posting this request for help.  He tries to be as self sufficient as possible and we hate to ask anyone for help.  However, this time our burdens are much greater.  This treatment is much more involved and much more costly.   We do have some health insurance; however the premiums, deductibles and co-pays are very high.  And the insurance, of course, doesn’t cover everything he will need.  Obviously, he will not be able to work for quite a while; and possibly never again full time.  His employer has been wonderful but can only help for so long, and then it will be even more difficult to continue paying the insurance premiums and bills. 

We have exhausted our meager savings and he has signed up for disability, but we are informed that those benefits will not start until July 2015.  We are assessing all possible options among our minimal assets.  So, I’m reaching out for any assistance you can offer to help with medical bills and/or just making ends meet for a while.  I pray to God that giving up the treatment will not become the chosen option.  We are very thankful for the support to date from his employer, my church, and other friends.  We now ask for help from extended family, friends and even outside help.  Anything you can do would be deeply appreciated.  At the very least, offer prayers for Keith. 

Thank you and God Bless,
Era Dann
Geneva, Fla.
January 26, 2014