Support Kyle's Fight Against Rare Brain Cancer

Hi everyone,

my name is Valerie and I’m starting this benefit on behalf of my brother, Kyle. For the last few months he’s been a bit off, confused, tired, not eating, balance issues along with blurry vision in his left eye. On Friday March 7, my mom had to fly back to Rochester, NY from my house in Wilmington, NC to bring him to the emergency department. His symptoms got so bad he was pale, and hallucinating. From there they ran a tons of tests and scans. A CT scan of his head followed by an MRI showed that he has multiple lesions in his brain, with one causing hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain that leads to swelling) and a midline shift(pressure on the center on your brain, causing one side to shift to the other). He was immediately admitted to the hospital, where they continued to run tests. On Thursday March 13, they did a brain biopsy to get samples of the biggest lesion and send them off for testing. At this point we were hopeful that we were dealing with an infection, inflammatory process or fungal infection. Unfortunately on Friday March 21, we got the news that Kyle has germ cell tumors. These type of tumors usually occur in children and originate in the scrotum for boys and ovaries for girls. So for it to be in his brain is extremely rare. These are cancerous tumors. We’ve met with a radiation oncologist, who has reached out to colleagues that are more familiar with this type of cancer and have a treatment plan. These colleagues will follow along throughout treat to ensure everything is being done correctly. However we’re waiting on one blood test and an MRI of his spine and neck to result. If those come back clear treatment will be 5 weeks of radiation 5 times a week and can be completed in Rochester. On top of radiation he will still need to follow with neurosurgery and endocrinology, because he has a tumor on his pituitary gland which has caused diabetes insipidus. This needs to be monitored very closely, because it affects his sodium levels, so he will most likely be getting lab work every few days. IF these two test come back with tumors anywhere else other than his brain, we will unfortunately have to travel to CHOP, Boston or NYC for treatment. We’re praying these come back clear and he can complete treatment in Rochester. Either way he will be out of work for the foreseeable future. He was able to be discharged from the hospital today March 22, and will wait at home for the remaining test results. Treatment cannot start until April 3 at the earliest due to him having the brain biopsy. Any amount that you can donate will help with food, cost of gas to get him to and from treatment and any costs that are not covered by insurance. If you can’t donate financially please share this and pray that these last two tests are negative and that treatment goes well. Any extra amount we receive will be donated to brain cancer research.