George Harris, Jr. Cancer Bill Fund
Donation protected
To all my FB family and friends,
My brother, George Harris, Jr., is currently in the hospital fighting for his life. He has colo-rectal cancer and the chemotherapy treatments he has been receiving have been brutal, causing him to become severely dehydrated and very ill.
Last year in June, George required emergency surgery to repair a perforated (exploded) colon. Had he not made it to the hospital when he did, he would have died. Following surgery, he required a colostomy bag, which he was told would be removed once his colon healed, but prior to the scheduled reconstructive surgery, during pre-surgery prep tests, a malignant tumor (stage 4) was found and the reconstructive surgery was cancelled. George then required radiation and chemotherapy to reduce the size of the tumor, prior to surgery to remove the cancer. After 5 weeks of treatment and 5 weeks of recovery, he went back into surgery to remove 18 inches of his colon along with the tumor. We thought the colostomy bag would be removed and he would be back intact, but unfortunately, when he came out of surgery, we found that he now had an ileostomy bag in place of the colostomy, to be removed at a later, unknown date.
At that point, we thought he was cancer-free, based on his surgeon's comments, but then were told by his oncologist that due to the nature of the cancer, he would require 6 - 8 rounds of chemotherapy. None of us were too concerned about this, since George had gone through everything else with optimism and minimal side effects. Unfortunately, we were wrong. The chemotherapy side effects have been horrific and life threatening, causing him to become severely dehydrated and unable to eat due to sores in his mouth. He remains in the hospital today, doing much better with constant monitoring, but will be starting a new round of chemotherapy soon and his recovery will be long in duration.
The bills keep mounting. While George does have medical insurance, it only pays for so much. At this time he owes well over $10000, but that does not include the bills from this current hospital stay, the future chemo treatments or the potential hospital stays due to future chemo side effects. George has not been able to work at all since his first surgery. He is a farmer, which requires manual labor and he is too weak for that,and manual labor of any type causes a severe bout of hand/foot syndrome.
Please, if you are able to help George in any way, it will be very much appreciated. Watching my brother waste away in a hospital bed has been terrible, but having to watch him worry about bills when he should be resting and recuperating has been even harder.
My FB page has chronicled his journey. Our family prays for his full recovery and a cure for cancer so no one else ever has to go through what he has endured.
My brother, George Harris, Jr., is currently in the hospital fighting for his life. He has colo-rectal cancer and the chemotherapy treatments he has been receiving have been brutal, causing him to become severely dehydrated and very ill.
Last year in June, George required emergency surgery to repair a perforated (exploded) colon. Had he not made it to the hospital when he did, he would have died. Following surgery, he required a colostomy bag, which he was told would be removed once his colon healed, but prior to the scheduled reconstructive surgery, during pre-surgery prep tests, a malignant tumor (stage 4) was found and the reconstructive surgery was cancelled. George then required radiation and chemotherapy to reduce the size of the tumor, prior to surgery to remove the cancer. After 5 weeks of treatment and 5 weeks of recovery, he went back into surgery to remove 18 inches of his colon along with the tumor. We thought the colostomy bag would be removed and he would be back intact, but unfortunately, when he came out of surgery, we found that he now had an ileostomy bag in place of the colostomy, to be removed at a later, unknown date.
At that point, we thought he was cancer-free, based on his surgeon's comments, but then were told by his oncologist that due to the nature of the cancer, he would require 6 - 8 rounds of chemotherapy. None of us were too concerned about this, since George had gone through everything else with optimism and minimal side effects. Unfortunately, we were wrong. The chemotherapy side effects have been horrific and life threatening, causing him to become severely dehydrated and unable to eat due to sores in his mouth. He remains in the hospital today, doing much better with constant monitoring, but will be starting a new round of chemotherapy soon and his recovery will be long in duration.
The bills keep mounting. While George does have medical insurance, it only pays for so much. At this time he owes well over $10000, but that does not include the bills from this current hospital stay, the future chemo treatments or the potential hospital stays due to future chemo side effects. George has not been able to work at all since his first surgery. He is a farmer, which requires manual labor and he is too weak for that,and manual labor of any type causes a severe bout of hand/foot syndrome.
Please, if you are able to help George in any way, it will be very much appreciated. Watching my brother waste away in a hospital bed has been terrible, but having to watch him worry about bills when he should be resting and recuperating has been even harder.
My FB page has chronicled his journey. Our family prays for his full recovery and a cure for cancer so no one else ever has to go through what he has endured.
Organizer
Glee Harris
Organizer
Costa Mesa, CA
