Marty's Journey Through Cancer

My name is Alanna and I am fundraising for my husband, my kids and my family as we battle our way through my husband's stage 3b bladder cancer fight. My husband just turned 48 years old in August and is the heart, soul and rock for our family of 6. We met when I was a single mom of two young boys and he stepped into the role of "dad" with no kids of his own, no experience and a heart of gold. We have been together for almost 15 years and during this time, we have added two more kids to our family. Our children are now 21, 20, 12 and 11. Marty is know for being a hard, hard worker - he is a truck driver who spends 6 days a week on the road and when he is home, his family is everything. He is active in the community, helping out with kids sports, collecting items for food bank drives and participating in parents vs kids ringette games for our daughters team. Marty is the first to jump in the help someone when they need it without question, the first to work extra hours when things get tight and you will always find him in the stands cheering on the kids when he is home. Marty is a proud man who strives to provide the best that we can for our kids, family and others and now he needs help.

This fight began in December 2020 when my husband was diagnosed with yet another urinary tract infection. This issue seemed to be popping up every 6 months or so and my husband would receive medication, get better for a few months and then be back at the doctor again. In December 2020, he was referred to a urologist because the doctor suspected that it was a urethral stricture and in January 2021 he had surgery to rebuild his urethra. After surgery and 4 weeks of recovery everything seemed to be going well and my husband went back to work. Within a couple of weeks, my husband was again experiencing issues with what appeared to be UTI symptoms, fever and pain and ended up at the Emergency Room. Doctors again diagnosed him with a urinary tract infection and began IV antibiotics. After 6 days of daily runs to the hospital for IV medication, the symptoms were not going away and the on-duty doctor sent my husband via ambulance to Calgary for further testing.

This trip to Calgary changed everything for our lives. Marty was diagnosed with stage 3b bladder cancer. The doctors figured that the tumor had been growing in his bladder for several years and had never been caught by the numerous doctors that he had seen over the last few years. The urologist that performed the rebuild of Marty's urethra was shocked and stated that he was literally 3 inches away from the tumor and never thought to look. Over the course of the last 9 months, our lives have drastically changed. Marty has had to leave work and has undergone 3 months of very aggressive chemotherapy. As expected, he lost his hair, his energy, was in excessive pain and some days the pain was so bad that he barely spent anytime out of bed. Despite this, Marty still did his best to have game and movie days with the kids, to spend quality time with our family and to make sure that everyone knew how much he loved them.

In August 2021, Marty underwent surgery to remove his bladder, prostate, lymph nodes and surrounding tissue. After 2 weeks in hospital, he was released home to continue to heal and figure out life with an ostomy and what that entailed. We met with the surgeon at the end of September 2021 who seemed very positive with the outcome of the surgery and how well Marty was healing. In October 2021, Marty had a follow up scan and then an appointment with his oncologist. He was doing really well at the beginning of October, returning to himself and most of his pain had vanished as he recovered. We were really hopeful going into the appointment with the oncologist, despite Marty having some mild back pain for about a week leading up to that appointment. The appointment with the oncologist literally knocked the breath out of us. The cancer was not gone. The chemo did not work and because of this, the cancer is now considered to be uncurable.

This is where we need help from our community. There are treatments to help stop the progression of the cancer and shrink the tumors. Marty is scheduled to begin immunotherapy and possibly radiation in the next couple of weeks, with the goal of slowing the progression of the cancer, shrinking the tumors and helping to minimize his pain. We spent 12 hours in the emergency room two nights ago because Marty's pain was unmanageable and the doctors were worried that the cancer had spread to the bone or his spine. The good news is that the MRI showed there is no spread to the bones, spine or other organs, but there is a large mass growing in the empty space alongside his spine, which is causing nerve pressure and severe pain. Our only hope right now is to undergo genetic testing - if Marty has a specific mutation of his bladder cancer, then there is a pill that is showing very promising results for bladder cancer patients. The cost of this genetic testing is $2000 and is not covered by health care or private benefits. With Marty being off work for almost a year now, funds are extremely tight and being able to pay out of pocket for possible life saving treatment is an almost insurmountable mountain that we are trying to climb. We have also maxed out our private benefits, so with each prescription, mobility aids and items that Marty needs on a daily basis, we are having to pay out of pocket.

The funds raised would go to pay for the genetic testing as soon as possible, as time is of the essence to get treatment. Funds would be used to help pay for prescriptions, mobility aids and day to day bills that are piling up. It appears that Marty will not be going back to work for quite some time, if ever, and I am his primary caregiver at this point. Our kids are all pitching in with fundraising ideas and we are going to be doing different fundraising events using the #ourdadourheroesjourney so people can follow along.

Any help would be so greatly appreciated and please share this far and wide to raise awareness and support for Marty's cause.