Michael Caissie

Friends, Family, and kind supporters,

As Michael’s sister, I am making a call for help for my brother Michael Caissie.

If you know Michael, you know that behind his tough-looking exterior is a man with a heart of gold—the kind of person who would drop everything to help someone in need. He’s the first to offer a helping hand, and even the shirt off his back if you needed it. Now, it’s our turn to help him.

A little context information: Michael had sudden onset of bilateral leg swelling back in early November 2024. After a few visits at ER and some tests, they were unable to come to any immediate conclusion about the cause. He was referred to follow-up with his family physician.

His family physician sent him for thorough testing and two things were discovered:

1. He was suffering from severe proteinuria (nephrotic syndrome is a kidney condition where your body loses too much protein in the urine, leading to severe swelling (edema), fatigue, and a higher risk of infections and blood clots.)

2. A CT angiogram to map out his blood vessels coincidentally revealed that he had widespread enlarged lymph nodes.

Following these findings, he was referred to a nephrologist and a request for a lymph node biopsy was made.

He met with the nephrologist and was informed that they would also need to do a kidney biopsy to determine what was causing the nephrotic syndrome.

Fast forward to January and February, after several trips to Bathurst and Moncton, all biopsies were conducted, and after more than 3 MONTHS of stressful waiting, he was diagnosed with Stage IV lymphoma and membranous nephropathy, a complication from his lymphoma cancer. He will be starting his treatments first week of March.

If the lymphoma is controlled, kidney damage should improve.

In some cases, nephrotic syndrome goes into remission completely after effective treatment.

If left untreated, membranous nephropathy may progress to kidney failure, making cancer treatment even more urgent.

One of the medications he was prescribed in pill form is not covered by their insurance. This treatment is for 1 year and the first month cycle is at a cost of $2,200 and because the dosing is on a ramp up schedule, the cost will likely increase. They are currently working with a program that will hopefully cover this ridiculous expense in full.

Because of his condition Michael had to miss a lot of work and is being affected by considerable revenue loss which adds stress to his already stressful situation. Furthermore, he will not be able to work while undergoing his treatment. He will continue to have to travel accompanied by his wife, for consultations and will continue to suffer revenue loss. In this economy, let us not kid ourselves, any minor revenue loss is significant!

They are trying to remain positive, but it is difficult not knowing if the treatments will respond.

Despite it all, Michael continues to push through—he even insists on snow-blowing the yard after a storm, no matter how unwell he feels. That’s just who he is.

But right now, we need to make sure Michael’s only focus is his health. We want to ease the financial stress so that he and his wife can concentrate on his treatment, his healing, and his future.

This is where we need your help. Any contribution—no matter the amount—will make a difference. Whether big or small, every single act of kindness will be felt deeply and appreciated beyond words. If you’re unable to give, even sharing this message can go a long way.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing with us, for lifting Michael up, and for showing him the same kindness and generosity that he has always shown to others.