My name is Tony Baker and in April 2024 I was diagnosed with appendiceal cancer, or cancer of the appendix. I endured 3 major surgeries to have the cancer removed and I was given a temporary ileostomy. After a grueling recovery, I was declared cancer free and went to have my ileostomy reversed in early 2025. During some routine pre-surgery scans, we received heartbreaking news - it was found that I had a tumor growing on my liver. After a biopsy was done, I was upstaged to stage 4 metastatic appendiceal cancer.

Since then, I have received 18 chemotherapy treatments and counting. The hope is that the chemotherapy will shrink the tumor down enough to make me eligible for surgery, which gives me a chance for a cure. My wife and I have been treading water financially, but with a little help we've been able to make it through the year. Over the past several months however, we have been hit with new expense after new expense.

The biweekly treatments and copays have been adding up. Our 15 year old car developed some serious issues over the summer. In October, our 12 year old dog who has been our best friend for so many years, developed an age related heart condition that requires 3 daily medications. We were ready to absorb these costs, but in addition to this we got some devastating news right before the holidays - Our rent is being raised $200 per month, and under Illinois' new healthcare plan our insurance premiums are being raised $300 per month. The rent and insurance hikes alone equal $6,000 per year.

We are hoping to raise $6,000 to cover the additional costs of living while my wife restores her cosmetology license with the hopes of landing a second job to help keep us afloat. It would mean the world to us if you would donate to help keep us going in 2026 while we figure out the best way to move forward. We intend to fight this thing all the way through, but we are struggling to do it on our own and could really use a hand.

Thank you for reading,

Tony & Kat Baker