My father's battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer

Thank you for stopping by to read our story. My name is Monica and I'm helping my family fundraise for my father, Jose de Jesus Velazquez Gomez, upcoming medical expenses and the financial stress that my parents will now need to overcome after a sudden and heart-wrenching diagnosis.

On June 6, after many tests, my dad was sent to the ER and found a tumor on his pancreas. On Thursday, June 15, after a couple of biopsies, we received the devastating news. Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, that has spread to his stomach.

STAGE 4! How could a healthy man, who regularly visited his doctor, and always reminded us to eat right for a better life, be the one who got diagnosed with one of the most aggressive cancers?

(2016, Sabrina's H.S graduation)

A little bit about my father, Jose. He is from the small town of Tala, Jalisco in Mexico. One of 10 siblings, he moved to the US to live with his older brother, Antonio, when he was 16. He grew up fast and learned to take care of himself to become a responsible young man. My dad lived in Los Angeles in the late 60’s and early 70’s, where he experienced both the good and the bad of that time. He has shared stories and lessons he learned as a young man, that have guided us throughout our adulthood.

He went back to Tala in 1980 to visit his family and it was fate that he met my mom, Lupita, at a family friend's quinceañera (sweet 15). They fell in love, got married, and moved to San Francisco, CA where my dad was living at the time. They grew their family with the addition of my brother Chris and me. They shared their love and youthful optimism for the future. They became successful in Tupperware and got the opportunity to manage distributorship in Texas. We moved to Harlingen, TX in the early 90s where they grew their business, raised us with love and support, and added one more addition to our family – Sabrina the youngest.

My dad’s focus was always on the kids, my mom (the brains) grew the business and my dad (the heart) made sure we were taken care of and supported my mom every step of the way.

We moved to Chicago in ’99 for better opportunities and went through several struggles, but many more blessings as a family. We held on to each other through the trails of life and lifted each other during our successes. My dad found his second home/job at the Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook, IL where he has worked for more than 17yrs.

In Chicago, my parents focused on humanitarian and faith-based volunteer work as a way to give back to the community they belonged to. My dad became the president of St. Vincent De Paul food pantry out of our parish, St. Nicholas of Tolentine for a few years. I remember asking him, why in the middle of our struggles did he continue to donate his time or many times give out of his pocket, to a stranger? He reminded me that “our current situation may not seem like a blessing, but there are people who need a hand to remind them that hope is not lost.”

(During Lent he played Pontius Pilate in our community Stations of The Cross for two years.)

If you know him, worked with him, or interacted with him (church, businesses he often visits, etc.) you know that he can’t walk away without making you laugh or at least leaving a smile on your face. He’s an eternal optimist. Always gives to those in need without judgment, makes small talk with everyone he interacts with (people are always happy to see him), lifts those around him with his songs, and if you really know him you can recite his regular sayings – there are so many of them!

We still need him with us. The battle is still ahead of us with medical expenses and financial burdens my mom and dad will face. Any amount will help. If you can't give at this time and you know him - please reach out to us anytime. Words or prayers of encouragement have helped our family during this time. Thank you.