Help Us Keep Our Family Together

Hi, hey folks, my name is June, a wife to Ron, mom to three little kiddos and a baker. I’m setting this up for our family of 5 from Raleigh, NC.

First and foremost a heartfelt gratitude for being here. Kindly asking our family, friends, neighbors and compassionate strangers to take time and read our story. 

The Day Everything stopped

My husband, Ron, my ride or die, my biggest supporter and the most amazing father to our three little kiddos; Juniper(6), the nature loving artist, River(4), the smart goofball, and Rion(2), the tiny engineer, has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive bile duct cancer called cholangiocarcinoma in early March this year after a trip to the ER. Our world literally flipped upside down and everything changed in an instant. One moment we were just living our normal happy life, and the next we were trying to understand all these medical terms, treatment options, and what this all means for our future.

This is Ron and us.

If you’ve ever met him, you know right away, he’s the kind of person who makes you feel taken care of without making a big deal about it. At Home Depot, he works hard, but it’s never just “work” to him. He notices people. He takes the time to help, to explain, to lift the heavy things without being asked twice. He’s the one coworkers rely on when things get hectic, and the one customers remember because he treated them with real kindness. But who he is at work is just a reflection of who he is at home. He’s incredibly attentive the kind of husband who notices the small things, who listens, who makes you feel like you’re not alone in anything. With the kids, he’s playful, patient, and full of love. He’s the dad who can make them laugh with his sarcastic jokes, the one who turns ordinary moments into something special just by being present. He’s smart in a quiet, thoughtful way, and he has this dry sense of humor that catches you off guard and makes you laugh when you need it most. Even on the hardest days, he still shows up for the people he loves. That’s just who he is. He doesn’t brag. He doesn’t ask for recognition. He just keeps giving his time, his energy, his heart to everyone around him. And if you ask me, that’s what makes him extraordinary.

And that’s who is fighting this.

Ron was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive bile duct cancer affecting both the liver (intrahepatic) and areas outside of it (extrahepatic). 

 Since then, our lives have been filled with scans, lab results, and urgent decisions, but Ron has approached it all with the same clarity and determination that defines him. He is currently undergoing standard first line chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin. At the same time, we are carefully exploring additional, evidence based options guided by his tumor’s genetic profile.

Why we need your help 

We’ve been working with doctors at Duke and UNC and we’re so grateful, but his case is very complicated. He has 3 very rare DNA mutations; TP 53 R248L, PIK3CA, CTNNA1 that are only available to be treated through clinical trials. The doctors have told us there’s nothing else they can do other than the standard chemotherapy here in NC and that the chemotherapy will stop working eventually. His prognosis doesn’t look too promising at this point. We were devastated when we received the news. We feel urgently to get him into a clinical trial based on his specific DNA mutations combined with chemotherapy and other therapies we have discovered. We’re fighting against time. Now we’re looking for cancer institutes that run active clinical trials in different states; MD Anderson, Houston/TX, MSK, NY/NY, Mayo Clinic, MN. And we need to get him into one of these hospitals as soon as possible. We are exploring every option and treatment that could give us more time. 

 We are actively pursuing

• Advanced clinical trials (including WEE1, ATR, and DNA-PK inhibitors)

• Liver-directed therapies like Y-90 radioembolization

• Emerging non-invasive treatments such as histotripsy and photodynamic therapy 

These are thoughtful, medically grounded steps, not just hope, but informed action to give Ron the best possible chance and quality of life. 

The reality is that accessing this level of care means travel, second opinions, potential relocation, and time away from work, all while raising our three young children. 

During this time Ron is still the same person, still making us laugh, still thinking things through, still showing up for us even on his hardest days. Now we’re doing everything we can to show up for him.

We are asking for help so we can

•  Travel to leading cancer centers and attend consultations- Houston, Boston, NYC from Raleigh, NC

 • Pay the first consultation with specialists; out-of-pocket costs; the very first visit will cost us $15,354 at MD ANDERSON in Houston due to being out-of-state

• Stay near hospitals during treatment and clinical trials

• Cover costs not fully supported by insurance

• Keep stability and normalcy for our kids 

Between medical bills, traveling for treatment, staying near hospitals, and just trying to take care of our three little ones, everything is adding up so quickly. I’m not accustomed to asking for help like this, but right now, I don’t know any other way.

Your generosity will help cover his first treatment expenses, a roof over our heads, and the care of our children. 

Every donation, no matter the size, will help us find hope and security as we’re trying to figure this out. Thank you for considering a gift to support us.

We’re not asking for anything extra, just a chance. A chance for more time. More hugs, more memories together as a family.

As some of you already know, we are all we got.

Thank you for taking your time to read this, for caring, and for standing with us. 

With all our hearts,

xoxo,

June, Ron, Juniper, River & Rion