Support Jeff's Battle Against Stage 4 Lung Cancer

In April 2024, my dad, Jeff, was at a doctor appointment because he had been previously coughing up blood. With further testing and imaging, they found a nodule on his lung. His doctor wanted to give it some time to see if it was growing and, if so, at what rate. At the end of July-early August, Dad went in to have it checked, and it had grown 3x its size in a matter of 4 months. In early August, Dad had a biopsy done on the nodule, and the doctors didn’t seem to think it was cancerous at that time. Around August 8th, the results came back, and sure enough, the nodule on Dad’s lung was cancer. My father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.

Some may remember that my dad was in serious condition back in 2020 with Covid. Well, due to that, my dad also was informed that he has Vasculitis and ILD (Interstitial Lung Disease), and because of those two conditions, cancer treatments are very limited for him. On August 31st, Dad had his first chemotherapy appointment, and he was feeling pretty good for at least two days after. But Monday, September 2nd, Labor Day, my parents found themselves spending the day in the Emergency Department. My dad was having a hard time breathing on his own. My dad ended up needing a Thoracentesis, a procedure to drain the fluid out of his lungs. That helped him tremendously, but he still kept the oxygen close by in case he needed a little help.

Since this all started, my dad has had many imaging appointments, office visits, procedures, and virtual visits to stay on top of all of this. Unfortunately, with imaging, we never really got a break as each time results came back, it would show that the cancer spread, and that would just mean Dad’s chemo treatments would become more aggressive. With the side effects from chemo—neuropathy, shortness of breath, anemia, nausea, and body aches—it has made it hard for my dad to work.

Asking for help is the hardest thing and the last thing I want to do, but I have to at least try to help my family. My parents, in particular, are people who refuse to ask for help even when they know they need it. With my dad out of work and not quite old enough to be eligible to retire, he will not get to receive the full benefits of retirement but will be leaving his job at the beginning of March. With my mom doing in-home daycare, money is going to be extremely hard and close to impossible to live off of just my mother’s income.

Anything helps. If you’re not able to donate, I just ask that you share this and say a prayer for my dad and family.

(if you rather send donations directly to the family my mothers Venmo account is @Dawn-REINERS )