Love & Support for Scott, My Twin & Best Friend
Donation protected
Dear friends:
As many of you know, my twin brother Scott was diagnosed with multiple myeloma bone cancer back in July 2018. What started as some minor back pain in February of last year, turned into the biggest challenge of Scott’s life. Originally, Scott thought he had just pulled a muscle in his back, and figured it would go away in a few weeks. However, 2 months later, the pain had gotten progressively worse, to the point where it was extremely painful to even walk or get out of bed. It wasn’t until April that he finally decided to get it checked out by his local PCP. After running some initial x-rays and an MRI, his PCP noticed some unusual fractures in his back that didn’t seem normal in someone his age. He decided to send him to a local orthopedic doctor to take a look at the fractures. The Orthopedist did another MRI and ultrasound, and also did not like what he saw. Before making a conclusive diagnosis, he sent Scott to another local back surgeon, who wanted to do multiple blood tests on Scott, as well as a bone biopsy in his back. This confirmed to all of them that their fears were correct. After 2 months of multiple doctor’s offices, hospitals, MRIs, blood tests, and bone biopsies, Scott was given the bad news right after July 4, when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma bone cancer, and his life was about to change forever.
It’s almost too surreal and tough to describe, hearing that someone you love has something that could kill him is devastating. Unfortunately in this day and age, it’s all too common, everyone knows someone going through what Scott is going through, but you never think it could happen to you and your own family, especially to someone like Scott, who has been active and healthy his whole life. Needless to say, our family was shocked and upset, just trying to process everything and prepare for what was to come. Scott, not surprising though, took the news pretty well, as he does with most things, but I don’t think he fully realized how his life would change in the months to follow.
Luckily, immediately after being diagnosed, a mutual friend was able to get Scott into MGH under the primary care of the Director of the Myeloma clinic, and our family couldn't be more grateful for the care Scott has received while he's been there. The doctors and nurses at MGH have been absolutely wonderful, trying to keep his life as normal as possible, though they’ve encountered many challenges along the way. Scott started his first round of chemo at MGH back in July, each round is 3 weeks, and currently, he’s on his 6th round. He goes to the hospital every week for about 4 hours to get his chemo shot and blood work done, and in between that, he takes about 10 pills a day to fight the cancer. Overall, his body has reacted pretty well on the meds recently, though the beginning was really tough, as he developed a severe rash and dangerously high fever from one of the meds, which landed him back in the hospital a few times. Now he has his good days and bad days, dealing with the occasional nausea and everyday exhaustion from all the pills. But he never complains, and somehow still manages to work 2 jobs and go to the gym every day, no matter how tired he is or how much pain he’s in.
In between all that, he’s had 4 cement procedures on his back to help repair the severe fractures and relieve some of his pain. Though beneficial, these procedures have taken their toll on Scott, due to the pain and recovery time afterwards. His back is feeling a little better now, but he still wakes up with back pain every morning. Then in October, Scott had his biggest setback, due to his weak immune system from all of the chemo drugs, he ended up getting cellulitis in his foot, which was extremely painful and landed him back in the hospital multiple times because it was so difficult to treat without an IV hooked up to him. However, Scott was so worried about missing more time at work, the doctors made the decision to send Scott home with his own pic line(internal IV), which Scott had to administer to himself for an hour everyday, 3x/day, for 10 straight days, even while he was at work. After 2 months of treatment and being unable to barely walk, the pain and swelling finally subsided. Thankfully, Scott was able to at least enjoy the holidays with his family without spending it in a hospital. Now after the holidays, Scott is back on his regular chemo schedule. Hopefully, if there are no more setbacks, as this is all leading up to a stem cell transplant, which he’ll get from me, sometime in April. If all goes well, then Scott will be in remission after that.
The next few months will be critical for Scott, he needs to stay healthy while on the meds, and especially after the stem cell transplant. His immune system will be extremely weak for a few months, so it’s critical Scott doesn’t get sick, which is why the doctors will keep him at MGH for a t least a month after the transplant.
Friends, I hesitated writing this because I didn’t want to make it seem like Scott is a special cancer case in any way. In fact, I have 3 very dear friends who had their lives turned upside down over the past few years due to some horrible diseases, but thankfully, they are all doing well right now, and their strength and determination have been an inspiration to Scott. I realize there are thousands of you out there dealing with similar life changing events, and I pray for all of you to stay strong and don’t lose hope during these difficult times. I guess I just wanted to see if I could make Scott’s life a little easier this year, since the past year has been so tough on him both physically and financially. As I mentioned, even through all of his back fractures, chemo treatments, cellulitis, and constant pain, Scott never complains, as he still considers himself lucky compared to most people living with cancer. He still manages to work 2 jobs, and goes to the gym every day, no matter how much discomfort or pain he’s in. He continues to just push his body to the limits no matter how exhausted he is every day. Though I can’t take away his physical pain and stress, I would love to be able to take away some of his financial stress. Obviously, if you know Scott, he wants nothing to do with this. He’s just so grateful for everyone’s amazing support, prayers, and love. He really has been overwhelmed by it all, believe me. But I told Scott, this is something his family wants to do on his behalf.
As you can imagine, the chemo meds are very expensive, not to mention all of the MRIs, biopsies, blood work, and cement procedures. While his insurance is covering some of it, he’s still getting thousands of dollars in medical bills, which he just can’t pay right now. The bigger challenge will be when he has his stem cell transplant around April, and will have to take a leave from work for a few months. Though Scott may receive some disability pay, he is very worried about not getting paid his salary for those months, and still being able to cover his rent, utilities, car, and other apartment expenses. My family and I are helping out as much as we can, but it’s been difficult. People at Scott’s work have been kind enough to donate some of their PTO to Scott to cover his chemo treatments every week, but unfortunately, he won’t have any PTO left for his stem cell transplant. Lastly, Scott’s car is basically on its last legs, and it won’t last another summer. Aside from the 200k miles on it, he went through last summer without any AC in his car, driving to work and his doctor’s appointments in the sweltering heat, which you can imagine was very uncomfortable. We would love to be able to put a down payment on a used car for him, so he doesn’t have to worry about another hot summer in his current car.
I love my brother more than anything. It kills me everyday to see him go through something like this, and breaks my heart that I can't do more to help him. A lot of my friends have asked how they can help, and what can they do for Scott. Well this is the best way I know how. All of the money raised will help Scott pay down his medical bills, help him cover his apartment expenses(such as rent, utilities, and food) for a few months while he’s on medical leave from work, and finally contribute to a down payment on another car, which he desperately needs. On behalf of my family, we can’t thank everyone enough for all your love and support through this difficult time. We appreciate it more than you will ever know. Please keep Scott in your hearts and prayers in the coming months, as I know he’ll use all that strength to fight this terrible disease. God Bless
Love,
Jason Gianatasio
As many of you know, my twin brother Scott was diagnosed with multiple myeloma bone cancer back in July 2018. What started as some minor back pain in February of last year, turned into the biggest challenge of Scott’s life. Originally, Scott thought he had just pulled a muscle in his back, and figured it would go away in a few weeks. However, 2 months later, the pain had gotten progressively worse, to the point where it was extremely painful to even walk or get out of bed. It wasn’t until April that he finally decided to get it checked out by his local PCP. After running some initial x-rays and an MRI, his PCP noticed some unusual fractures in his back that didn’t seem normal in someone his age. He decided to send him to a local orthopedic doctor to take a look at the fractures. The Orthopedist did another MRI and ultrasound, and also did not like what he saw. Before making a conclusive diagnosis, he sent Scott to another local back surgeon, who wanted to do multiple blood tests on Scott, as well as a bone biopsy in his back. This confirmed to all of them that their fears were correct. After 2 months of multiple doctor’s offices, hospitals, MRIs, blood tests, and bone biopsies, Scott was given the bad news right after July 4, when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma bone cancer, and his life was about to change forever.
It’s almost too surreal and tough to describe, hearing that someone you love has something that could kill him is devastating. Unfortunately in this day and age, it’s all too common, everyone knows someone going through what Scott is going through, but you never think it could happen to you and your own family, especially to someone like Scott, who has been active and healthy his whole life. Needless to say, our family was shocked and upset, just trying to process everything and prepare for what was to come. Scott, not surprising though, took the news pretty well, as he does with most things, but I don’t think he fully realized how his life would change in the months to follow.
Luckily, immediately after being diagnosed, a mutual friend was able to get Scott into MGH under the primary care of the Director of the Myeloma clinic, and our family couldn't be more grateful for the care Scott has received while he's been there. The doctors and nurses at MGH have been absolutely wonderful, trying to keep his life as normal as possible, though they’ve encountered many challenges along the way. Scott started his first round of chemo at MGH back in July, each round is 3 weeks, and currently, he’s on his 6th round. He goes to the hospital every week for about 4 hours to get his chemo shot and blood work done, and in between that, he takes about 10 pills a day to fight the cancer. Overall, his body has reacted pretty well on the meds recently, though the beginning was really tough, as he developed a severe rash and dangerously high fever from one of the meds, which landed him back in the hospital a few times. Now he has his good days and bad days, dealing with the occasional nausea and everyday exhaustion from all the pills. But he never complains, and somehow still manages to work 2 jobs and go to the gym every day, no matter how tired he is or how much pain he’s in.
In between all that, he’s had 4 cement procedures on his back to help repair the severe fractures and relieve some of his pain. Though beneficial, these procedures have taken their toll on Scott, due to the pain and recovery time afterwards. His back is feeling a little better now, but he still wakes up with back pain every morning. Then in October, Scott had his biggest setback, due to his weak immune system from all of the chemo drugs, he ended up getting cellulitis in his foot, which was extremely painful and landed him back in the hospital multiple times because it was so difficult to treat without an IV hooked up to him. However, Scott was so worried about missing more time at work, the doctors made the decision to send Scott home with his own pic line(internal IV), which Scott had to administer to himself for an hour everyday, 3x/day, for 10 straight days, even while he was at work. After 2 months of treatment and being unable to barely walk, the pain and swelling finally subsided. Thankfully, Scott was able to at least enjoy the holidays with his family without spending it in a hospital. Now after the holidays, Scott is back on his regular chemo schedule. Hopefully, if there are no more setbacks, as this is all leading up to a stem cell transplant, which he’ll get from me, sometime in April. If all goes well, then Scott will be in remission after that.
The next few months will be critical for Scott, he needs to stay healthy while on the meds, and especially after the stem cell transplant. His immune system will be extremely weak for a few months, so it’s critical Scott doesn’t get sick, which is why the doctors will keep him at MGH for a t least a month after the transplant.
Friends, I hesitated writing this because I didn’t want to make it seem like Scott is a special cancer case in any way. In fact, I have 3 very dear friends who had their lives turned upside down over the past few years due to some horrible diseases, but thankfully, they are all doing well right now, and their strength and determination have been an inspiration to Scott. I realize there are thousands of you out there dealing with similar life changing events, and I pray for all of you to stay strong and don’t lose hope during these difficult times. I guess I just wanted to see if I could make Scott’s life a little easier this year, since the past year has been so tough on him both physically and financially. As I mentioned, even through all of his back fractures, chemo treatments, cellulitis, and constant pain, Scott never complains, as he still considers himself lucky compared to most people living with cancer. He still manages to work 2 jobs, and goes to the gym every day, no matter how much discomfort or pain he’s in. He continues to just push his body to the limits no matter how exhausted he is every day. Though I can’t take away his physical pain and stress, I would love to be able to take away some of his financial stress. Obviously, if you know Scott, he wants nothing to do with this. He’s just so grateful for everyone’s amazing support, prayers, and love. He really has been overwhelmed by it all, believe me. But I told Scott, this is something his family wants to do on his behalf.
As you can imagine, the chemo meds are very expensive, not to mention all of the MRIs, biopsies, blood work, and cement procedures. While his insurance is covering some of it, he’s still getting thousands of dollars in medical bills, which he just can’t pay right now. The bigger challenge will be when he has his stem cell transplant around April, and will have to take a leave from work for a few months. Though Scott may receive some disability pay, he is very worried about not getting paid his salary for those months, and still being able to cover his rent, utilities, car, and other apartment expenses. My family and I are helping out as much as we can, but it’s been difficult. People at Scott’s work have been kind enough to donate some of their PTO to Scott to cover his chemo treatments every week, but unfortunately, he won’t have any PTO left for his stem cell transplant. Lastly, Scott’s car is basically on its last legs, and it won’t last another summer. Aside from the 200k miles on it, he went through last summer without any AC in his car, driving to work and his doctor’s appointments in the sweltering heat, which you can imagine was very uncomfortable. We would love to be able to put a down payment on a used car for him, so he doesn’t have to worry about another hot summer in his current car.
I love my brother more than anything. It kills me everyday to see him go through something like this, and breaks my heart that I can't do more to help him. A lot of my friends have asked how they can help, and what can they do for Scott. Well this is the best way I know how. All of the money raised will help Scott pay down his medical bills, help him cover his apartment expenses(such as rent, utilities, and food) for a few months while he’s on medical leave from work, and finally contribute to a down payment on another car, which he desperately needs. On behalf of my family, we can’t thank everyone enough for all your love and support through this difficult time. We appreciate it more than you will ever know. Please keep Scott in your hearts and prayers in the coming months, as I know he’ll use all that strength to fight this terrible disease. God Bless
Love,
Jason Gianatasio
Organiser and beneficiary
Jason Gianatasio
Organiser
Wakefield, MA
Scott Gianatasio
Beneficiary