Ken Stojak Medical Expenses

Ken is 45 years young. He spent his childhood in Buffalo Grove, IL and moved to Wauconda, IL when he was a Senior in High School. A Certified Mechanic and has had a love of cars since he was a teenager. Ken and I have been together for 19 years and have two kids; Kyle, 17 and Kaylee, 9. He is a wonderful husband and an amazing father. He has always been our main provider.

On September 10, 2023 Ken went into the ER at 9:00 pm with lower right abdominal pain. They did a CT scan and had to send it out to a 3rd party for reading. They came back stating they see a mass and abscess. Ken was admitted into Good Shepard at 1:00 am on September 11th.

On Monday a drain was put in to start draining the large abscess on his intestines. Tuesday, a biopsy was done on one of the masses in his abdomen. On Wednesday the doctors informed us that it was stage 4 cancer, but didn’t know the type as of yet. On Thursday we were informed that the type is GIST.

A gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a type of cancer that begins in the digestive system. GIST happens most often in the stomach and small intestine. A GIST is a growth of cells that’s thought to form from a special type of nerve cells. These special nerve cells are in the walls of the digestive organs.

Two hours later, I had a work call I had to take. I was then informed that my department at work will no longer be as of December 15, 2023. This also means that our insurance will end on December 31, 2023.

On Saturday, September 16th, Ken was transferred to Advocate Illinois Masonic in Chicago, IL. On Monday, September 18th, he went in to have a large mass (measuring 13.2 cm) and the abscess removed. They did get the mass removed along with 4 inches of intestine and washed out the abscess. As of today Ken is still in the hospital recovering as he has had some ups and down since the surgery.

A biopsy of the tumor has been sent to pathology to see which type of Chemo will react and help shrink the multiple remaining spots within his abdomen. The results can take 30 days to get and then he will be able to start Chemo. He will be on oral chemo treatment for the rest of his life.

At this time Ken is unable to work. His employer has said he has a job when he is able to return to work, but at this time we are unable to say when this will be.