Donate to help Nasim fight stage 4 rectal cancer

Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I'm fundraising for our family's expenses, living as well as some medical. Nasim and I welcomed our first child (Preston) together on May 17, 2023. Nasim had been dealing with a lot of pain for a while, but we weren't quite sure of the reason. We started off with seeing a urologist in March 2023 thinking it had something to do with his prostate, but transitioned to seeing a gastroenterologist due to some other symptoms. It took several months to get our first appointment and then another month to schedule the colonoscopy. Just 5 days before I returned to work from maternity leave, Nasim had a colonoscopy and they discovered a tumor in the rectum. Even before the pathology came back his GI was certain the tumor was cancerous. The Drs told us if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

Nasim has been unable to work due to debilitating pain that has continued to worsen. After a ton of Dr's visits, scans and lab work, we received the official stage 2 rectal cancer diagnosis, but the day Nasim was scheduled to start his first radiation treatment we discovered the cancer had metastasized to the skin, so it is now considered stage 4. The week prior to starting radiation Nasim had a "cyst" biopsied at MD Anderson, where his cancer team did not expect for it to come back as anything of concern. To their surprise that "cyst" was in fact cancerous. The same cancer in the rectum. Based on my research skin metastases of adenocarcinoma of the rectum occur in < 4% of patients. His medical oncologist has stated the cancer could only have transferred through the blood or lymph nodes.

Prior to us knowing Nasim had cancer, he visited Dr. Anthony J. Perri with Perri Dermatology with concerns of this nodule located on his buttocks. Dr. Perri looked it over and assured him it was a "cyst" and nothing to worry about. Didn't recommend a biopsy, or even a follow up appointment for that matter. This really bothers me considering where we are now. The dermatologist at MD Anderson took one look at it and said, that is not just a cyst and scheduled the biopsy less than a week later. Needless to say, I don't recommend Dr. Perri.

Our son Preston is just 5 months old. My oldest daughter Mackenzie just started her Senior year in high school. Our son Brayden just started his freshman year in high school and our daughter Lyla just started 3rd grade. Our world has been turned upside down and Nasim is physically unable to work. This has left me feeling unsecure financially and afraid. We are struggling financially and it's just the beginning of this journey. If you feel compelled to help in any way, our family will be appreciative and forever grateful. Anything your able to donate will go towards our monthly bills, medical bills, food and providing the things our children need on a regular basis. I work full time and I'm the carrier of our health insurance, but I just don't make enough to cover all of our expenses.

If you are interested in our personal love story it's shared below -

I'm going to share some very personal pieces to our story. Nasim and I first met when I was 19 years old. Nasim was 32 years old. I worked for a small company and he was our attorney.

I always enjoyed talking to him on the phone. I found out he would make up reasons to call my office so he could speak to me and later made up an excuse to visit our office in person so he could meet me. We dated for a little over a year, but I ultimately walked away from the relationship. I always felt like Nasim was the one that got away.

13 years go by and I still held onto all the momentous from our relationship. We spoke less than a hand full of times and never saw each other again. I would occasionally stalk his Facebook, but he never shared much.

Fast forward to September 2015, I now have three kids. Mackenzie, age 10, Brayden, age 6, & Lyla, just 9 months old. Nasim & I reconnected through the funeral of my former boss. I invite Nasim to attend the funeral with me and see him for the first time in 13 years.

By January of 2016, I’ve relocated to The Woodlands and move in with Nasim. March 2020 we took a cruise at the very start of the pandemic, and during that cruise Nasim purchased a beautiful engagement ring. We were on one of the final voyages before they stopped all cruises for the next several years. A few weeks later, Nasim surprised me with a proposal at the house with my children and my best friend Priscilla in attendance.

We did not want to have a pandemic style wedding so we decided to wait until that was over to get married. Then I found out I was pregnant with Preston. Then we did not want to rush into a wedding before I had the baby, so we discussed waiting until after the baby arrived to plan our wedding.

I always dreamed of us having the most magical, beautiful wedding at Madera Estates in Conroe. We had already visited Madera Estates several years ago. I dreamt of a wedding where we would just pay, show up and they would do everything. I'd arrive in my beautiful wedding gown, and not have to worry about creating centerpieces or cooking food.

Unfortunately, just five days before I returned to work from my maternity leave, Nasim had a colonoscopy scheduled, and after it was complete, his Gastrointestinal doctor came to speak with me and told me that they had found a tumor, and that he was fairly certain it was malignant. The G.I. immediately rushed the pathology and referred us to an oncologist, as well as a general surgeon that would place chemotherapy port Nasim would need in order to start that treatment.

This is obviously devastating news to our family for so many reasons. Shortly after this diagnosis, I immediately told Nasim that I felt like we should go ahead and get married soon. I know that treatment options have come a long way from where they used to be and I do not look at cancer as a death sentence, but at the same time, nothing is certain. Cancer is a very tricky disease. I told Nasim I wanted us to get married right away. I couldn’t stand the thought of something terrible happening and we hadn’t made it official. So on my daughters 18th Birthday, at the end of her party, we surprised everyone with a poolside surprise wedding in the backyard of our friends home in the community we live in. While this wasn’t the wedding and ceremony we had always imagined, at the end of the day, none of that really mattered to us. When you’re going through something like a cancer diagnosis shortly after having your first baby with the love of your life, none of that matters.

Pray for Nasim and our family. Pray for peace, pain relief and patience. Thank you to all our family and friends for your support.

You are welcome to follow our journey on CaringBridge here - https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nasimahmad69