Please help support Chris' medical effort
Donation protected
Hello Everyone,
First, let us say that our thoughts go out to all of the people in the entertainment industry that are weathering this unprecedented and most difficult time.
Many are not only without work, but may have lost loved ones and dear friends to this pandemic too. This makes this even more humbling to write, and why we have put it off until some friends reached out to ask if I had a fund for donations.
I was diagnosed with Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer in April of this year. Bile duct is a rare form of cancer that has a minimal survival rate if I cannot get to surgery to remove a large tumor and some satellite nodules in the left lobe of my liver. Not being a candidate for targeted therapy or radiation, we were hopeful that a new chemo combo showing surprisingly positive results would shrink the tumors. Unfortunately, it did not work, and the tumors grew, spreading into the right lobe too. When we were told there were only two more standard chemo protocols left to try, then perhaps clinical trials, we decided to look for other options.
After weeks of research we found a place in Scottsdale that does more advanced testing for specific markers within my cancer cells. Using targeted chemo delivery methods and focusing on rebuilding my body and immune system this process feels like the best chance to make it to surgery. This therapy would be extensive, and while Scottsdale is a stone's throw from here, we would need to find a place to stay in since treatments are lengthy and daily.
Our dilemma is that this new treatment is expensive, and not covered by any insurance. After much deliberation, we are reaching out to ask for help in covering some of these costs. So many of you reading this are in no position to donate, yourselves trying to navigate paying bills and feeding families while we wait for the industry to resume. We welcome wholeheartedly your positive thoughts, prayers and energy as we need all these in spades too. We return this gesture to you as well. If anyone reading this feels moved to donate and can do so, words cannot express our gratitude.
You are all in our thoughts and prayers. We are a tribe, a micro-universe; the entertainment industry. In a world fraught with division and aggression, let's hold space for each other until we can reunite in our buses, planes, venues and hotels around the world. We will rise again.
Take good care of yourselves, and thank you!
Chris Reynolds and Christina Affholder
Tucson, August 2020.
First, let us say that our thoughts go out to all of the people in the entertainment industry that are weathering this unprecedented and most difficult time.
Many are not only without work, but may have lost loved ones and dear friends to this pandemic too. This makes this even more humbling to write, and why we have put it off until some friends reached out to ask if I had a fund for donations.
I was diagnosed with Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer in April of this year. Bile duct is a rare form of cancer that has a minimal survival rate if I cannot get to surgery to remove a large tumor and some satellite nodules in the left lobe of my liver. Not being a candidate for targeted therapy or radiation, we were hopeful that a new chemo combo showing surprisingly positive results would shrink the tumors. Unfortunately, it did not work, and the tumors grew, spreading into the right lobe too. When we were told there were only two more standard chemo protocols left to try, then perhaps clinical trials, we decided to look for other options.
After weeks of research we found a place in Scottsdale that does more advanced testing for specific markers within my cancer cells. Using targeted chemo delivery methods and focusing on rebuilding my body and immune system this process feels like the best chance to make it to surgery. This therapy would be extensive, and while Scottsdale is a stone's throw from here, we would need to find a place to stay in since treatments are lengthy and daily.
Our dilemma is that this new treatment is expensive, and not covered by any insurance. After much deliberation, we are reaching out to ask for help in covering some of these costs. So many of you reading this are in no position to donate, yourselves trying to navigate paying bills and feeding families while we wait for the industry to resume. We welcome wholeheartedly your positive thoughts, prayers and energy as we need all these in spades too. We return this gesture to you as well. If anyone reading this feels moved to donate and can do so, words cannot express our gratitude.
You are all in our thoughts and prayers. We are a tribe, a micro-universe; the entertainment industry. In a world fraught with division and aggression, let's hold space for each other until we can reunite in our buses, planes, venues and hotels around the world. We will rise again.
Take good care of yourselves, and thank you!
Chris Reynolds and Christina Affholder
Tucson, August 2020.
Organizer
CHRIS REYNOLDS
Organizer
Marana, AZ
