Raise Money for Howard Miller and Gus Miller

Hello All,

My name is Shayna Miller, and I sincerely appreciate you taking a moment out of your day to read my story. My family recently received some devastating news: my father, Howard Miller, a long-time notable artistic contributor to the small town of the New Paltz, NY, was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. In addition to him, my dog Gus, was also diagnosed with cancer of the jaw; two of the scariest pieces of information to receive on one day! Not only has this taken a huge emotional toll on my family, but it has hit us hard financially.

As a little kid I remember getting Tempeh sandwiches on Ezekial bread in my lunchbox, while other kids got to indulge in pizza day; drinking cashew milk instead of cow’s milk; being forced to drink wheatgrass shots; having glasses of beet juice served to me as a snack–this is how health-conscious my father was, and has been my whole life. Finding out that such a healthy man has such an aggressive form of cancer, has our family in a panic for money trying to keep up with several expensive treatments to shrink the tumor in his esophagus, just so he can eat and drink normally again.

Gus, my 11 year old maltese-miniature pinscher mix is just as much a part of my family as my father is. He has a large tumor on his bottom jaw that protrudes outward and bleeds often when he eats, or plays with the ball. The cancer is in his jaw bone, and the surgeon has to remove a part of his lower jaw to get rid of the cancer cells, otherwise it will continue to grow to the entirety of his mouth. He’s very uncomfortable, and it’s really hard to see him suffer every day, especially with the turmoil of my father’s cancer over our heads.

The emotional shock of all this has been hard enough, but the lack of financial means to keep both of these family members alive and healthy has given us no choice but to ask for help–any amount would be so greatly appreciated! Donations will go directly to my father’s treatments, or Gus’s surgery bill, which will probably be upwards of $8,000. If you’re not able to donate at this time, that is perfectly understandable, however sharing this with your friends and family would mean the world to us.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this–we truly appreciate you all!