My name is Jay Parker. I am a 35-year-old husband to an amazing woman and father of three wonderful children. I was just diagnosed over the month of July with lung cancer that has already spread to my liver and bones, including a growth in my neck that has caused a vertebra fracture. This has been a devastating shock to our lives, especially with no previous symptoms or any real history of smoking or hazardous exposures. I have already been hospitalized twice, had 900mL of fluid drained from around my right lung, and undergone two rounds of chemotherapy so far. We will soon be traveling to at least two specialized institutions to make sure that we are fighting this cancer with the best available options. At this point we are unsure when I will be able to return to work.

We have already been very blessed and overwhelmed by the amount of love and support that has come from our community, even from people we have never met personally. We are so grateful for any assistance we may receive to help us through this time of uncertainty.