Love and Prayer are stronger than Cancer!
Donation protected
We got the shocking news that our father John Faust has Prostate Cancer along with the aggressive cancer Small Cell Carcinoma. We want to bring awareness to Prostate Cancer and genetic testing through our story so that people can be tested and find out the increased chance of getting cancer sooner. We are humbly asking our friends and family to support us with prayer and by donating funds to help us pay for medical treatment expenses not covered by insurance. Please continue to read our story.
On July 24th, 2020, John called to tell us the official news: He has Prostate Cancer. In June 2020 he started feeling like there was something off with his body. He went in for a physical and the doctor did a routine prostate check. At first, he had a misdiagnosis- he was told he was fine, just take 6 ibuprofen a day and come back in a month. A week later, he went for a second opinion at a Urologist and that day he was told he had Prostate Cancer. After more tests, we found out that not only does he have Prostate Cancer, Gleason score of 9, but he also has Stage 4 Small Cell Carcinoma, an aggressive cancer that usually starts in the lungs of smokers. My dad has never smoked. This cancer is very rare, only 3% of people with Prostate Cancer also have Small Cell Carcinoma. The tests show that his cancer has already spread to his lymph nodes and bones; the doctor said it is likely that this cancer developed only 6 months prior and has already spread that quickly. Genetic testing has shown that he has a BRCA 2 gene passed down to him from birth. The doctors think this is the reason why John contracted this aggressive cancer at such a young age. There is a 50% chance that his siblings and offspring could have this gene as well.
Treatment for his cancer started right after we found out the news. He has been supported by his family and friends that take him to all of the medical/treatment appointments, pray with him in the car rides, and wait for him when he gets out of the appointments. Since there are two cancers, there are two treatments. Hormone therapy is for the prostate cancer, which are injections to remove the testosterone that the cancer feeds on. He also started intensive Chemotherapy for the Small Cell Carcinoma.
John is now halfway through the Chemo sessions, and the doctors say he is responding well to treatment, great news! He has very harsh side effects from the Chemo, including ringing in the ears, exhaustion, and stomach issues from the chemo eating away at the stomach lining. After he finishes the Chemo treatments, he will start to do radiation to kill more of the cancer, take medication, and get quarterly scans.
Through this experience, I have seen our dad fight hard for his life, especially when there was an incident with his health insurance. He found out a couple weeks ago that he was terminated off my mom Karen’s group plan right after the cancer discovery, which was very suspicious. His appointments started being cancelled one by one. When we found out his Chemo was cancelled, we were shocked and devastated. He made phone call after phone call only to get empty promises from the insurance company. Eventually my dad contacted Rob Lowe with Fox 31 Problem Solvers who spoke to the insurance company himself and told them he would do a big story if my dad’s insurance did not get fixed right away. Thankfully, the gears started to turn and everything with the insurance company got fixed immediately.
Even with health insurance, the expenses and costs for my dad’s treatment are extremely expensive. He has started to get billed for the out of pocket costs and one injection alone was close to $17,000. On top of that, his Executive Limousine company took a hit earlier this year when the virus shut down travel and transportation. It is still unknown when the travel industry will recover from this huge loss, and we do not know if my dad’s company will be able to survive this. John and Karen have been draining their savings and retirement to keep things going.
The purpose of this fundraiser is to collect funds to help pay for the medical expenses for John’s cancer treatment not covered by insurance. My dad is one of the most amazing, strong, kind and loving human beings, and he means the world to us. Please consider donating, any amount helps. If you cannot donate at this time, please share this to spread the word and pray for him and our family. We thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and we love you all. 10% of the funds gathered will go to our favorite charity, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
On July 24th, 2020, John called to tell us the official news: He has Prostate Cancer. In June 2020 he started feeling like there was something off with his body. He went in for a physical and the doctor did a routine prostate check. At first, he had a misdiagnosis- he was told he was fine, just take 6 ibuprofen a day and come back in a month. A week later, he went for a second opinion at a Urologist and that day he was told he had Prostate Cancer. After more tests, we found out that not only does he have Prostate Cancer, Gleason score of 9, but he also has Stage 4 Small Cell Carcinoma, an aggressive cancer that usually starts in the lungs of smokers. My dad has never smoked. This cancer is very rare, only 3% of people with Prostate Cancer also have Small Cell Carcinoma. The tests show that his cancer has already spread to his lymph nodes and bones; the doctor said it is likely that this cancer developed only 6 months prior and has already spread that quickly. Genetic testing has shown that he has a BRCA 2 gene passed down to him from birth. The doctors think this is the reason why John contracted this aggressive cancer at such a young age. There is a 50% chance that his siblings and offspring could have this gene as well.
Treatment for his cancer started right after we found out the news. He has been supported by his family and friends that take him to all of the medical/treatment appointments, pray with him in the car rides, and wait for him when he gets out of the appointments. Since there are two cancers, there are two treatments. Hormone therapy is for the prostate cancer, which are injections to remove the testosterone that the cancer feeds on. He also started intensive Chemotherapy for the Small Cell Carcinoma.
John is now halfway through the Chemo sessions, and the doctors say he is responding well to treatment, great news! He has very harsh side effects from the Chemo, including ringing in the ears, exhaustion, and stomach issues from the chemo eating away at the stomach lining. After he finishes the Chemo treatments, he will start to do radiation to kill more of the cancer, take medication, and get quarterly scans.
Through this experience, I have seen our dad fight hard for his life, especially when there was an incident with his health insurance. He found out a couple weeks ago that he was terminated off my mom Karen’s group plan right after the cancer discovery, which was very suspicious. His appointments started being cancelled one by one. When we found out his Chemo was cancelled, we were shocked and devastated. He made phone call after phone call only to get empty promises from the insurance company. Eventually my dad contacted Rob Lowe with Fox 31 Problem Solvers who spoke to the insurance company himself and told them he would do a big story if my dad’s insurance did not get fixed right away. Thankfully, the gears started to turn and everything with the insurance company got fixed immediately.
Even with health insurance, the expenses and costs for my dad’s treatment are extremely expensive. He has started to get billed for the out of pocket costs and one injection alone was close to $17,000. On top of that, his Executive Limousine company took a hit earlier this year when the virus shut down travel and transportation. It is still unknown when the travel industry will recover from this huge loss, and we do not know if my dad’s company will be able to survive this. John and Karen have been draining their savings and retirement to keep things going.
The purpose of this fundraiser is to collect funds to help pay for the medical expenses for John’s cancer treatment not covered by insurance. My dad is one of the most amazing, strong, kind and loving human beings, and he means the world to us. Please consider donating, any amount helps. If you cannot donate at this time, please share this to spread the word and pray for him and our family. We thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and we love you all. 10% of the funds gathered will go to our favorite charity, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Co-organizers (3)
Jordan Faust
Organizer
Englewood, CO
Karen Faust
Beneficiary
Ryan Faust
Co-organizer