KICKING CANCER’S ASS!! WHOSE WITH ME??

”You HAVE CANCER! You HAVE stage 4 Hepatocellular Carcinoma. And it is incurable.”

Those were the words that flooded my grandpa’s ears about a month ago as he sat waiting for his Dr’s to enter the room with some results following a previous appointment where “abnormalities” were mentioned, confirmed and later biopsied! Nothing prepares a person for those 3 words! “YOU HAVE CANCER!”

Those words confounded him beyond every other life lesson he overcame! And if anyone has been through it, it’s my grandpa!! Barely a minute before hearing those distressing 3 words, he was thinking about an upcoming rally with his life long biker buddy’s. How is that even possible?

Those who have fallen victim to this particular cancer, hepatocelluar carcinoma or HCC faces a measly 18% 5-year survival rate because of limited treatment options that are further constrained if the cancer spreads. That’s exactly what’s happened!

On October 4th, my Grandpa, Carl Knight, was officially diagnosed with incurable stage 4 Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Liver Cancer) that has already spread to parts of his lungs! His scans show a mass the size of a softball on the lower right quadrant of his liver! The fact that the cancer has spread is ultimately the deciding factor for which stage he’s is found to be in. At 71 years old, he’s learning how to live his life in his new normal! My favorite part is that he refuses to go down without a fight! He’s determined to do whatever he has to do to fight HCC, even if it’s just to prolong his presence! Either way, he’s not ready to leave this earth just yet! He’s got a family to protect and more than anything want to stay here with his wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and his many many friends. We want and need his goal of not giving up and fighting back to be fully supported with 0 stress for far more than 5 years! Recently he had to step out of his employment to be able to keep up with his appointments and his upcoming life prolonging treatments! Sadly, he is now facing the financial burdens of their already existing bills PLUS now his cancer treatment costs. Costs that will be recurring EVERY 21 days for the rest of his life! His wife, my grandma, is taking on their full financial responsibility, and then some! Because insurance does not cover his treatment expenses due to it still considered to be in its clinical stages, they are forced to foot the bill! And with his cancer having already spread to other areas of his body, coupled with the tumor size, location and stage of cancer he has, options for surgical removal of the tumor/cancer is off the table as are any hopes for a successful transplant! While we understand the entire nation faces the financial burdens of inflation and the aftermath of COVID-19, we hope you find yourself in a position to carry out a good deed for such an amazing human being! No amount will be left unappreciated as it will all be graciously accepted to help cover treatment expenses, unexpected loss of a household income, and other day to day expenses! From our entire family to anyone reading this, if if there nothing else you do today, please remember to take a moment and think of my grandpa and his whole family! As always, keep sending some positive thoughts and encouraging words every chance you get! And if there’s a higher power you believe in, for the love BEND HIS/HER EAR IN PRAYERS!!!! Help us hold on to her husband, their father, their brother, their uncle, their best friend, my moms biggest fan… MY GRANDPA!!

Love you grandpa! We’re building a whole army to stand behind you to help kick cancers ass!! YOU GOT THIS!!!