Hi, my name is Alicia Jacobs. My husband, Mike, just recently was diagnosed with cancer. Late April 2022 is when all of his problems started. He is a paraeducator at Kenwood Leadership Academy, where our kids attend school. Towards the end of the school year he was feeling extremely fatigued. He had blood drawn at the doctor's office and his labs were all abnormal. He was referred to PCI hematology and had 5 iron infusions with zero improvement. After the 3rd infusion his hemoglobin had dropped below 8 (the range they want is 13-17). They were prepared to give him a blood transfusion.

The doctor did a CT scan and it showed a large mass on his right kidney and spots all over his lungs. They attempted 2 lung biospies with the first one resulting in a small pneumothorax (collapsed lung) that repaired on its own. The 2nd biopsy was inconclusive.

He had a PET scan done and it was consistent with a kidney tumor. The nodules on his lung are consistent with pulmonary metastatic disease- so they think the spots on his lung have spread from the kidney.

He is having a kidney biopsy on Friday August 5th at St Luke's to figure out what type of cancer it is so the doctors know how to best treat the cancer. Blood draw and meeting with the oncologist is Tuesday 9th of August so we can determine what treatment he needs. We do know that Mike has stage 4 kidney cancer and that it has spread into his lungs. We are unsure of what the treatment will be, how long his treatment will last, and how long recovery from everything will take.

This has turned our family upside down. Mike won't be able to return to work right away. He has extreme dizziness and fatigue with little movement. He is supposed to be working in the 1st grade, and there is no way he can safely do his job in the condition he is right now. He has been our primary source of income, so I am taking a break from nursing school for at least this semester and trying to pick up more hours at work, but with our future being up in the air and having no idea how long Mike will be getting treatment until he is healthy, I need to be available to take Mike to appointments and take care of our boys, pets, and home.

We don't like asking for help, but know there is no way we can fight this without help. Our finances have shrunk to next to nothing. Our bills are starting to pile up and that doesnt include financial situations such as the boys going back to school shopping with Urijah going into middle school and Killian going into 3rd grade. The monthly expesnses are a majority of our bills, vehicle payment, mortgage, and misc. things such as gas for our vehicle.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the help and support we have received so far.

-Alicia