Robin Brigge's Cancer Journey
Donation protected
On December 16th, 2016, Robin was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital for what ended up being severe blood clots. After 3 days, he was discharged and continued on a blood thinner medication. A few months later toward the end of the day at work, with an alarming amount of blood in his urine, he went to Urgent Care. He was referred to a Urologist and diagnosed with bladder cancer on Good Friday. A scoping of the bladder revealed the cancer, a CT scan also caught the lobe of his kidney which showed a golf ball-sized tumor. Robin underwent bladder surgery twice and 5 weeks later had his kidney removed.
He was on the road to recovery when in March of this year his Oncologist found he was bleeding internally and performed a bone marrow biopsy which found MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndromes), often times a precursor to Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Two weeks later, Robin’s Oncologist passed away. He went to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance where they performed a second bone marrow biopsy and was diagnosed with full-blown Leukemia. 20% myeloblasts in the blood or marrow is generally required for a diagnosis of AML and Robin’s results were at 47%. He completed chemotherapy and was in remission when they found a D3 mutation, meaning he has a 75% chance of relapsing with the cancer coming back stronger in the next 2 years. The good news is they have found multiple donor matches for him and have started the process to have a complete bone marrow transplant in the next 6-8 weeks. Left with just 1 kidney and the stress the last 2 years has caused his immune system, Robin is a specialized case and is required to spend 1 month at the University of Washington Hospital after the transplant under careful observation while undergoing chemo/radiation and then a 100 day stay at the Pete Gross House for continued observation.
This GoFundMe page has been set up to assist Robin and his family with the medical and living expenses they were not prepared for during this very unpredictable and difficult journey. Robin will be out of work for the next year. They continue to be extremely thankful for their church family, family, and friends who have prayed for them, encouraged them, and supported them. A sincere thank you to everyone for anything and everything you can do to help during this difficult time. Robin continues to trust in God’s plan and his faith is strong.
He was on the road to recovery when in March of this year his Oncologist found he was bleeding internally and performed a bone marrow biopsy which found MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndromes), often times a precursor to Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Two weeks later, Robin’s Oncologist passed away. He went to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance where they performed a second bone marrow biopsy and was diagnosed with full-blown Leukemia. 20% myeloblasts in the blood or marrow is generally required for a diagnosis of AML and Robin’s results were at 47%. He completed chemotherapy and was in remission when they found a D3 mutation, meaning he has a 75% chance of relapsing with the cancer coming back stronger in the next 2 years. The good news is they have found multiple donor matches for him and have started the process to have a complete bone marrow transplant in the next 6-8 weeks. Left with just 1 kidney and the stress the last 2 years has caused his immune system, Robin is a specialized case and is required to spend 1 month at the University of Washington Hospital after the transplant under careful observation while undergoing chemo/radiation and then a 100 day stay at the Pete Gross House for continued observation.
This GoFundMe page has been set up to assist Robin and his family with the medical and living expenses they were not prepared for during this very unpredictable and difficult journey. Robin will be out of work for the next year. They continue to be extremely thankful for their church family, family, and friends who have prayed for them, encouraged them, and supported them. A sincere thank you to everyone for anything and everything you can do to help during this difficult time. Robin continues to trust in God’s plan and his faith is strong.
Fundraising team (2)
Nicole Marie
Organizer
Raised $250 from 1 donation
Seattle, WA
Robin Brigge
Beneficiary
Lance Sims
Team member
Raised $1,200 from 2 donations
This team raised $1,870 from 9 other donations.
