Support Daniel Koehler's Fight Against Cancer

Hello - my name is Jennifer Klinges. Together with my siblings, we are starting a GoFundMe to support our father, Daniel Koehler. He has been battling 3 different cancers in the last 3 years: prostate, malignant melanoma (in which he received Keytruda infusions every 3 weeks for a year, just finishing the last infusion last month), and the most recent one being bladder cancer, which was diagnosed this past fall. Within the last 3 years, he has had numerous surgeries with lengthy recoveries and missed time at work.

He began treatments last fall for the bladder cancer, which were very difficult for him to tolerate. Unfortunately, more lesions were found in his bladder at the beginning of this year, and he had surgery to remove them. It was the recommendation from his doctor to have his bladder removed, but there was an additional concern with the latest scan of his lymph node in his lower abdomen, so a biopsy was first conducted.

We have recently learned that the biopsy showed that he has metastatic carcinoma with micropapillary features. This is a rare, aggressive variant of bladder cancer. Due to the cancer having spread outside of the bladder, his bladder removal has been put on hold to first begin chemotherapy. On April 15th, he will begin a highly intense chemotherapy called “MVAC.” It consists of a combination of 4 chemo drugs to be given over the course of 8 weeks. He will not be able to work at all during this time period. After chemotherapy is complete, he will be given a month to recover and then will be scheduled for complete bladder removal surgery, with additional time off work anticipated.

Our father is one of the kindest and most loving individuals we know. He is a loving husband and father, and his 10 grandchildren are his world. It is heartbreaking to know he is faced with this battle ahead, but we know he is a fighter. As we seek to support him and our mother through the many stressors ahead, we are asking those who are able to help us remove the financial burden this situation is placing on them. Donations gathered through this GoFundMe will help to replace the lost wages from our father’s extended time off of work for daily living expenses, as well as cover the range of medical expenses that will continue to pile up so that the full focus can be on effective treatment, rest, recovery, and above all, a successful fight against bladder cancer.

We kindly thank you for your generosity and appreciate your help sharing this fundraiser. We also ask that you keep our father in your prayers as he continues this battle in the days and months ahead.