Losing His Eye To Cancer Was The Easy Part

Clay's Cancer Has Now Spread to His Liver, and It's Incurable

It's been a tough year for my son Clay. It started on New Year's Eve 2021 when he was diagnosed with ocular melanoma , a rare eye cancer that affects only 5 out of every 1 million people. Learning that there was such a thing as eye cancer was quite a shock to Clay and his family (partner Rosalee Schesltraete and their daughter Jennifer Butler).

The tumor was large, and his vision was distorted from a retinal detachment caused by fluid leaking from the cancer. The eye was not worth saving with brachytherapy (radiation), so Clay opted to remove his eye (enucleation) on February 22nd, 2022.

He recovered quickly and was back to night surfing in six weeks. He adapted exceptionally well to one-eyed living. However, the specter of the cancer spreading weighed heavily on his mind.

Liver Cancer Came Earlier Than Expected

Unfortunately, metastasis came early, and four cancerous lesions were discovered in his liver on September 27, just nine months after the initial diagnosis.

A core liver biopsy on October 27th confirmed metastatic uveal melanoma.

A follow-up scan on November 7th showed the tumors had grown and new ones were forming.

Incurable But Treatable

Ocular melanoma is insidious. It comes with a lifelong risk of metastasis, usually in the liver, but can also spread to the lungs, the bones and other organs. And once it spreads to the liver, there is no cure, only treatments to extend life. The typical lifespan with treatment is two years. If caught early and a patient responds well to treatment, some make it to 3 to 5 years or longer. We're hoping Clay will become one of the outliers.

Hoping for The Best, Preparing for the Worst, and Slowly Going Broke in the Process

Clay is in good spirits most days. He's surfing every day and is currently in no pain. He's been very active in the Facebook ocular melanoma community, creating YouTube videos to educate people about this disease, coping with cancer and living with one eye. Stanford's social media sites have highlighted his activism and educational outreach, and fellow ocular melanoma patients reach out to him privately, seeking clarity and guidance and a safe place to unload their worst fears.

He's been self-employed as a brand developer and packaging designer and has been the primary income earner in his family since 1998. But managing his cancer is becoming a nearly full-time job, and his family is falling behind on their bills. This financial buffer will help Clay stay fully involved in his cancer treatment without the constant daily stress and anxiety of wondering if his family can pay for basic living expenses.

Thanks for your support,

David Butler (Clay's dad)

Who is Clay Butler?

Clay gets around in the best sense of the word. A fixture on East Side Santa Cruz, you may know him from his decades of surfing the Point and Hook or seeing his glow necklace race across the surf cams at 4am. He's been known to break out the 600mm lens after his session and capture his friends' stoke from the beach. You may even have one of his shots of you getting barreled on your wall.

Or you may be a fan of his local landscape photography (AKA: The Twilight Ninja ) and his obsession with shooting the Walton Lighthouse.

You may know him from a decade of volunteering at Community Television of Santa Cruz County, or his award-winning television shows The Bill and Clay Show and Yadda Yadda .

You may have been a fan of his self-syndicated alternative political comic strip Sidewalk Bubblegum , which ran in the Santa Cruz Sentinel and Metro Santa Cruz.

Or perhaps you were inspired to follow your dreams of becoming a professional artist during a decade of volunteer work with Your Future is Our Business . A non-profit that brings working professionals into the schools to connect with students of matching interests.

And over 140 families know him as the President of the Alimur Park Homeowners Association. As President for the last 20 years, he was instrumental in negotiating the purchase of their mobile home park in 2016 and proudly joining the growing ranks of Resident Owned Parks in Santa Cruz county.