Colin's Medical Fund

My name is Colin Bain. I’m 66 years old and a devoted husband, father, and grandfather to two little ones, ages 4 and 9. All throughout my life, I have strived to work hard to provide for myself and my family. But now I need your help. Four months ago, everything seemed fine. I was happily working and living my life. Then suddenly, I started having excruciating back pain and thought it was a herniated disc. With the pain becoming more severe with each passing day, it became clear that something was seriously wrong. After a month of appointments, bureaucracy, and waiting, in July, I received the shocking news that this back pain was actually a tumor wrapped in and around my sciatic nerve. I started radiation therapy to try to shrink the tumor and alleviate the pain. Then I received the devastating news that this tumor was not an isolated incident, but actually a metastasized tumor from my lung. In late July, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic lung cancer and given 6-12 months to live. In the time it took for that sentence to process, our whole world turned upside down. There have been several major turning points in my life, but none have been as surprising and important as this. I am now on an aggressive course of chemotherapy and immunotherapy that will hopefully eradicate these tumors and lead me on the road to recovery.

Receiving this diagnosis was a life-altering event, however, it is worsened by the fact that as the main provider of the family, I am no longer able to work to provide for our basic costs of living, let alone pay the medical bills that come with these expensive, but absolutely lifesaving treatments. Even with our health insurance, our out-of-pocket contributions are substantial and overwhelming. Recovering from cancer is difficult. Recovering from cancer under daily financial stress is impossible.

These funds are urgently needed during this difficult and unexpected time. Any help, no matter the amount, will be greatly appreciated. I still have a long road ahead of me, but I am staying positive and am determined to fight this insidious disease. With your help, we can make it. And if we manage, I’ll feel blessed to be alive to pay it forward to another family in the same situation. Thank you and God Bless.