Help the Beeke Family Battle Cancer

If you know Luke, then you know he is a happy and energetic little boy who loves to laugh and be silly. He is a great little helper at home, and always tells his mom he is “bigstrong” (It is one word to him).  For the past month, this sweet and “bigstrong” little boy has been fighting a mystery illness. After multiple trips to the doctor, nothing seemed to be working. 

On March 15th doctors found a large tumor on Luke’s Kidney, and referred Steve and Carrie to Primary Children’s Hospital for further testing.  We have since learned that Luke has been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.  He has what is called a Wilms tumor. Luke had surgery this week to do a biopsy and have a central port installed. He will begin chemotherapy immediately to try and shrink the tumor. They will do another surgery in 6 weeks to remove the tumor, along with Luke’s right kidney, which has completely shut down.  After that, Luke will continue with chemotherapy and radiation treatments for at least another 6 months. While the prognosis is good, and Luke is expected to make a full recovery, the Beeke family is at the very beginning of what is sure to be a long road ahead. 

Steve and Carrie are currently living in St. George, Utah. Steve quit his job this past month to help get Luke to doctor’s appointments while Carrie works full time as an art teacher for Tuachan High School.  Because Luke’s treatments are in Salt Lake, Carrie and Steve feel that it would be best to re-locate, so that they can be closer to Luke’s treatment facilities, medical staff and family who can help with childcare for Luke and his younger brother Ashton, etc.  This means Carrie and Steve will need to find new housing, and a new means of earning income for the time being.

This experience has been an overwhelming and humbling one for the Beeke family. If you know them, you know that they are the first to give help and the last to ask for it. They live modestly and work hard to provide a happy and loving home for their children. In an effort to help them with the financial cost of relocation, housing and mounting medical bills we have set up this GoFundMe page in their behalf.  We believe in the saying, “many hands make light work,” and would love to show our love and support for the Beeke family in their time of need. Please join us in being “Bigstrong for Beeke” in Luke’s fight against cancer.