Please Help Out the Helms!
Donation protected
Imagine losing your ability to eat and then getting diagnosed with Stage 4 Stomach Cancer. Meet Mike Helm and the Helm family, let's help them fight this together!
Mike is a devoted husband, father of 3 daughters, Gramps of 4 grandkids and loving owner of 3 pups who are his pride and joy. He needs your help with medical expenses and family support in the fight for his life.
A little background info: Mike had the Lapband procedure done in 2014 and lost over 100 pounds! In 2018, he started to have trouble swallowing food. He said it would “get stuck”. He went to the Lapband doctors thinking it had something to do with the band. They checked and said everything was fine, adjusted his saline pouch and sent him on his way. He gradually continued having trouble and going back to the Lapband doctors who assured him everything was fine. In September 2020, he went back again, and they said the Lapband had slipped and he asked them to remove it. They scheduled surgery and could not get the scope down his esophagus, so they had to do a more invasive approach. When he awoke, they told him he had scar tissue in his esophagus. After the surgery, he went back to his everyday life but still struggled to swallow. Thinking it was the scar tissue, he assumed this would be his new normal. In November, the Lapband doctor called him and told him that the biopsy taken during the September surgery came back showing cancerous cells. Mike was shocked! He didn’t remember being told about a biopsy (neither did his wife). He met with an oncologist the following week and it was confirmed that he had cancer.
Stage 4 to be exact. Mike wept and said he tried to be a good man (he is literally the best man I know). There are so many things he still wants to do, places he wants to see, grandkids he wants to watch grow up…
The cancer has already spread from his stomach to his esophagus, lymph nodes, adrenal gland, and bones. As a statistic, he is grim.
He got the run around from Vegas doctors and his insurance company and finally looked outside his area for help. He went to the Cancer Treatment Center of America (CTCA) in Arizona on Dec. 21, 2020 for a petscan. The doctors were wonderful and created a plan to run more tests and begin chemo after the new year due to holiday scheduling. Mike continued to decline rapidly. He was unable to eat enough to give him energy. His back began to hurt, which made it impossible to sleep. He and his family tried to always stay optimistic, even though they knew the odds were against them.
On January 4, 2021 under the advisement of CTCA, Mike was taken to the emergency room because he was so weak and in pain. He was admitted and what came next was a whirlwind of complications. He had to have a feeding tube implanted because he was so malnourished. The surgeon also placed a port so he could begin chemo when he was released. After the surgery, he continued to decline. He has a blood clot they can’t find, “sludge” (doctor’s term) in his gallbladder that caused his liver enzymes to go through the roof and inhibit him from starting chemo, meaning another procedure which he has been deemed not strong enough for. They have stopped his feedings through his feeding tube because his body isn’t tolerating it. He is receiving nutrition through an IV. He is fighting to get stronger despite the many roadblocks so he can return home to his family and begin chemo.
His insurance company initially would not cover any of the costs because they say this associated with the Lapband (which wasn’t covered). It has been explained to them that this has nothing to do with the Lapband, it did not cause the cancer! They finally agreed to pay for 8 out of the 15 days he was in the hospital. The medical expenses are racking up and Mike is still in the hospital with no release date.
He never asks for help and is always the first one to help others, so I am asking for him. He and his family need your help for medical treatments, recovery and to keep them going!
Please help Mike if you can! He would do the same for you! Donations can also be sent via Venmo to @mandy-yeoman or Zelle to [email redacted]
Mike is a devoted husband, father of 3 daughters, Gramps of 4 grandkids and loving owner of 3 pups who are his pride and joy. He needs your help with medical expenses and family support in the fight for his life.
A little background info: Mike had the Lapband procedure done in 2014 and lost over 100 pounds! In 2018, he started to have trouble swallowing food. He said it would “get stuck”. He went to the Lapband doctors thinking it had something to do with the band. They checked and said everything was fine, adjusted his saline pouch and sent him on his way. He gradually continued having trouble and going back to the Lapband doctors who assured him everything was fine. In September 2020, he went back again, and they said the Lapband had slipped and he asked them to remove it. They scheduled surgery and could not get the scope down his esophagus, so they had to do a more invasive approach. When he awoke, they told him he had scar tissue in his esophagus. After the surgery, he went back to his everyday life but still struggled to swallow. Thinking it was the scar tissue, he assumed this would be his new normal. In November, the Lapband doctor called him and told him that the biopsy taken during the September surgery came back showing cancerous cells. Mike was shocked! He didn’t remember being told about a biopsy (neither did his wife). He met with an oncologist the following week and it was confirmed that he had cancer.
Stage 4 to be exact. Mike wept and said he tried to be a good man (he is literally the best man I know). There are so many things he still wants to do, places he wants to see, grandkids he wants to watch grow up…
The cancer has already spread from his stomach to his esophagus, lymph nodes, adrenal gland, and bones. As a statistic, he is grim.
He got the run around from Vegas doctors and his insurance company and finally looked outside his area for help. He went to the Cancer Treatment Center of America (CTCA) in Arizona on Dec. 21, 2020 for a petscan. The doctors were wonderful and created a plan to run more tests and begin chemo after the new year due to holiday scheduling. Mike continued to decline rapidly. He was unable to eat enough to give him energy. His back began to hurt, which made it impossible to sleep. He and his family tried to always stay optimistic, even though they knew the odds were against them.
On January 4, 2021 under the advisement of CTCA, Mike was taken to the emergency room because he was so weak and in pain. He was admitted and what came next was a whirlwind of complications. He had to have a feeding tube implanted because he was so malnourished. The surgeon also placed a port so he could begin chemo when he was released. After the surgery, he continued to decline. He has a blood clot they can’t find, “sludge” (doctor’s term) in his gallbladder that caused his liver enzymes to go through the roof and inhibit him from starting chemo, meaning another procedure which he has been deemed not strong enough for. They have stopped his feedings through his feeding tube because his body isn’t tolerating it. He is receiving nutrition through an IV. He is fighting to get stronger despite the many roadblocks so he can return home to his family and begin chemo.
His insurance company initially would not cover any of the costs because they say this associated with the Lapband (which wasn’t covered). It has been explained to them that this has nothing to do with the Lapband, it did not cause the cancer! They finally agreed to pay for 8 out of the 15 days he was in the hospital. The medical expenses are racking up and Mike is still in the hospital with no release date.
He never asks for help and is always the first one to help others, so I am asking for him. He and his family need your help for medical treatments, recovery and to keep them going!
Please help Mike if you can! He would do the same for you! Donations can also be sent via Venmo to @mandy-yeoman or Zelle to [email redacted]
Organizer
Mandy Yeoman
Organizer
Henderson, NV
