I have pondered for months on how to begin writing this and have come to the conclusion there is actually no proper way, just the facts, so here they are. I have stage IV metastatic colorectal cancer. The journey from diagnosis to treatment has been one of the most difficult physical, mental and spiritual times that I have ever experienced. I have been fighting it for a while now and will continue this battle until one of us wins.

February 2025 I began to notice a shift in my body. GI issues, muscle pains, sleepless nights, an unknowing. As a type 1 diabetic I am used to my body feeling sometimes "off", so attributed these symptoms to possible side effects of my diabetes. Come March into April and the issues were only getting worse, I sought out medical attention. ER visits, specialists, antibiotics, high fiber diets, diagnosis' that offered zero help and only a furtherment of suffering. On August 6th, five days after my 39th birthday, doctors discovered a 7 cm tumor in my rectum during a colonoscopy. Subsequent body scans showed the cancer had spread to my liver and lymph nodes resulting in a stage IV metastatic cancer diagnosis.

Obviously, the news was heartbreaking and I was terrified this would be my demise. I have beaten death once when I flatlined in 2013 due to undiagnosed diabetes and was now forced to look into the void yet again. My 10 year old son was with me when I received the diagnosis and telling him about what was happening easily marks one of the saddest days of my existence. And for him, and the rest of my family, is why I continue this fight. My parents have heavily stepped in as my caretakers, taking time off work to bring me to every one of my doctor and chemo appointments. Tending to me when I am too weak. I am eternally grateful to have such a strong support system and know without them I would not be here still. That is the truth.

March 2, 2026 marked my six month point in going through chemotherapy. I have been on a standardized chemo treatment for colorectal cancer plus a stage 3 trial program for a drug called Amivantamab. The treatments have shown very positive results in tumor shrinkage and overall mass reduction of the cancerous cells in my body. Chemotherapy has been brutal, my body is frail and certain side effects have been difficult to manage. Mouth ulcers, infected nail beds, bleeding out of most orifices, open sores and pustules covering my body, pain and suffering. I am emerging now, writing this nine days after my last treatment, definitely feeling better internally. And here is where I need help.

The next steps of hopeful remission begin soon. On March 26th I will be undergoing an operation on my liver called microwave ablation. My liver is the most cancer riddled part of my body currently and the theory behind this operation is to fully remove all the cancer from the liver. My interventional radiologist is one of the country's most knowledgeable surgeons in this area of expertise, however the operation still does have a 10% chance of issues resulting in infection and possible death. After this operation I will begin a 28 day long radiation program to remove the cancers in my rectum and lymph nodes and any other residual cancers between them. All of this hopefully leads into remission (we pray) and then 3-5 years of monitoring my body through scans to show no re-emergence.

This journey so far has lasted a year and seems it will continue for much longer. Due to my inability to work during this time, cancer is a full time job it turns out, I have wiped out my savings and see no immediate future in which I could return to work. Your donations will directly go towards a few things. If, and that's a big if, I am able to beat the cancer and go into remission I need ongoing help with things like physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, vitamins and supplements, organic fruits and veggies, farm raised beef, residual bills, and standard operations of life. It would behoove me not to understand the other side of the coin in which I die. As to that I have been taking steps in securing my estate, all my physical art works made and collected plus intellectual property securement so my son and family can benefit off them if my life's work is ever worth anything. This process costs filing and legal fees which can be expensive. One more thing I need funding for is during the 28 day long radiation treatment I have been contemplating renting temporary housing near the treatment site. Currently, I am roughly a 3 hour round trip from where I would receive radiation and having to do that drive every day for a month straight may be physically taxing as well as an undeniable strain on my parents. Hopefully I am able to rid my body of this demon and begin to rebuild my life again.

Anything helps. Even just a positive thought out into the sky, I am a firm believer in the power of the collective consciousness. I have been extremely silent about this publicly and may still possibly remain this way but will try and update the gofundme after important procedures happen or any wild news. Thank you for reading if you got this far.

Big love, James.