Nick’s fight against Metastatic Ocular Melanoma
In the beginning of 2019, my brother in law Nick went to the eye doctor for a routine eye exam to see what was causing little floaters in his eye. During the exam, the optometrist noticed an abnormality and referred him to a specialist. After seeing the specialist and getting the biopsy results, Nick was informed that the spot in his eye was in fact cancer. After more tests etc, Nick was also given the devastating news that on top of having this rare form of eye cancer (Ocular Melanoma), he unfortunately is among the small percent that has the type of cancer which has a very high chance of metastasizing to other parts of the body.
Nick had a procedure done, March of 2019, called Brachytherapy where they temporarily anchor small radioactive seeds into the eye to shrink the tumor. They stitched a plaque, or small implant, containing several iodine-125 seeds to the wall of the eye, near the tumor. It remained there for a few days, emitting radiation. Going forward, the eye doctor then carefully monitors the size of the tumor and Nick also would need to have routine tests done.
Sadly, a few months ago he went in for blood work and had his yearly scan and found out that the cancer metastasized to his liver. From the moment he found out, he went into fight mode! Nick is extremely motivated, he’s doing everything in his power to stay healthy, he’s as positive as one can be, and is willing to do whatever it takes to beat this!!!
Nick’s cancer is very rare and aggressive so he is having to fly to Pittsburgh (he is there currently with his wife Janene) to see a specialist at UPMC to hopefully be accepted into the TIL’s Clinical Trial that this Dr. specializes in. He is having a biopsy done of his liver to see if his T-cells grow enough in the next 2 weeks to be accepted. He has prayed about the proper direction/treatment and feels this is the best first step to cure him of this cancer! He is also looking into other additional treatments including the Hope 4 Cancer Treatment Center in Cancun.
If you know Nick personally, you know that he is such a good human! He’s an amazing husband and father that loves his family fiercely. Nick and Janene just recently celebrated 14 years of marriage. They have 4 beautiful kids, Gavin (12), Blake (10), Brooke (8), and Hayden (almost 6). Nick and the family can use all the prayers and positive thoughts as they navigate through this scary time.
Nick is the sole provider for the family and will be having to take time off of work for treatment. This is a stressful time both emotionally and financially for Nick and Janene. We’re putting together this GoFundMe to help take some of the burden away so that they can focus on fighting this! Thoughts and prayers are just as appreciated as a donation. We thank you in advance for all of your support and will keep you updated as we find out more❤️