Please help my brother Paul fight cancer!

My brother Paul Parker is an incredibly hardworking family man that has been trying to fight an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer at 51 years old. The financial burden on him and his family is becoming more than they can handle. Please read his story and help support Paul in his fight against cancer; he is such a kind and loving soul that tries to help anyone he can.

 

So sadly, Paul was diagnosed with Hepatosplenic T cell Lymphoma (HSTCL), an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer.

 

He has an amazing wife and children that have supported him so much over the past year since he was diagnosed. Paul loves life; he loves helping others. He is always willing to lend a helping hand. He enjoys anything outdoors, camping, quadding, horseback riding, biking, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. He also likes rebuilding cars, car motors, and other building projects.

 

Paul was enjoying life with his family, working on building a beautiful barn for his wife, when he began to get sick. Symptoms progressed quickly, making him very ill. One doctor's appointment turned into many weekly visits to the hospital for consults with specialists and a wide variety of scans, tests, and viral studies being sent out for review. The only accurate abnormal blood work results at that time were elevated liver enzymes, so, Paul was consistently being told, "you are young, it is most likely something viral and will pass"! He would be hospitalized for a few days and then sent home again. Finally, he received a phone call at home that his system was crashing and he needed to go in immediately for urgent liver and bone marrow biopsies to test for lymphoma.

 

Many symptoms were just the beginning of the nightmare that Paul and his wife began to endure. The diagnosis of HSTCL was given two days before Christmas 2020. This cancer affects the liver, spleen, and bone marrow. He was rushed to Edmonton within days and started treatment on New Year's Eve. Jenine stayed in Edmonton to be with Paul every day, while her mom, Ruth, moved into their home to stay behind with their daughter, who was still in school.

 

Paul went through grueling combinations of the harshest drugs and chemo that would keep him very sick - hospitalized in Edmonton and away from home for nearly four months, constantly being told, "we don't know if this will even work." But it did work, and through the worldwide web donor registry, they were able to find an excellent match for a bone marrow transplant donor.

 

Paul had only a brief recovery period at home with his family before being admitted to a hospital in Calgary - even further away from home - for another four months. More chemo and full-body radiation treatments were given to wipe out the rest of his system to prepare for the transplant.

 

It was an exciting day when Paul finally received his bone marrow transplant on May 20th, 2021!

 

But unfortunately, due to a Covid outbreak on the ward, Paul would suffer even more! He would have to be isolated, alone, without his wife there to support him over the next number of weeks. He was incredibly sick long after the transplant and had various complications but managed to make it through, and they finally returned home in the fall of 2021.

 

Soon after getting home, Paul's blood work started showing a rise in liver enzymes again, but they were told various things could be causing this, and the doctors didn't seem concerned. Paul was gradually feeling better, and his system seemed to be regenerating. They attended their son's wedding, and they were excited to hear that they soon were to be first-time grandparents.

 

After such a long and terrible ordeal, the family hoped that the transplant would end this chapter in their lives. But as the liver levels kept rising, a liver biopsy confirmed that Paul was in relapse - the cancer had come back - seven months after being released from the hospital.

 

Paul and Jenine's hope was to try another transplant or infusions from the previous donor, but apparently, this is not an option Paul would likely survive. The only option Canada has to offer now is "salvage chemo" in the hopes of slowing it down. Researching options outside Canada has brought them to the decision to send Paul to a clinic in Mexico for several weeks. This is bring about a considerably higher financial burden but is seemingly their only option. They are so hoping this will work. Paul flew to the CIPAG Clinic in Mexico on April 18th, 2022.

 

Paul and Jenine have been off work for over a year, all while absorbing the added costs of Jenine driving back and forth between cities to see their daughter and the added expense of a separate apartment and bills while in Calgary at the transplant center.

 

The bills coming up now for Paul to travel internationally for lengthy treatment will be much more than anything they have had to deal with so far, and so we are asking for help to support them financially in his fight.

 

In addition, even if you cannot financially contribute, please feel free to share all tips or links that may lead to information on other helpful treatment options they could explore.

 

The money raised will go toward;