Support Lance Volkman's Battle with Myeloma

I want to thank you for your love and support of my dad, Lance Volkman.

My dad was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma July 2022 at the age of 60. Myeloma is a rare blood cancer that causes bone pain and the thinning and breaking of bones. My dad’s cancer is centered in his spine and upon diagnosis, they found that his L5 vertebrae had deteriorated.

If you’re reading this, I’m sure you already know, but my dad is a dairy farmer. Always has been. He was raised on a farm and then eventually took over the family farm where he and my mom still live today. With the pain that this cancer has caused, my dad could no longer keep up with the demanding work that is farming. In November of 2022, he had to make the difficult decision to start selling the cows. He continues to farm the land, but even that has been hard to keep up with because of the pain and treatments. We’re fortunate enough to have family and friends that have helped my dad with fieldwork, but the physical and emotional pain that this has caused has been heartbreaking.

Since being diagnosed, he has undergone several different chemo treatments and medications. In September of 2023, he had a stem cell transplant at Froedtert in Milwaukee. Just before last Christmas, my family had received the wonderful news that my dad was in remission. From most stories I had heard about patients with Multiple Myeloma, once they received their stem cell transplant, the cancer pretty much stayed at bay for many years. That’s why the unfortunate news of the cancer’s return this September has been especially distressing. After the stem cell transplant, my dad was continuing to do maintenance treatments in the hopes that the amount of cancer in his blood would remain at zero. But now it is back, and it is aggressive.

My dad was recently approved for a CAR T-Cell treatment. On October 28th, he had a small amount of T-cells removed at Froedtert. They are currently in the process of getting “cleaned up” in a laboratory and then will be transferred back into my dad. This will hopefully enable the cells to destroy the cancer cells. He is scheduled to have the cells put back in on December 7th and will be staying at Kathy’s House December 7th-January 5th. In the meantime, he is receiving chemo and radiation treatments.

While the cost of the CAR T-Cell treatment has recently been approved for coverage by Medicare, there are still many other expenses leftover from past treatments, as well as future expenses, such as, the cost of the stay at Kathy’s House. Because of this, I’m hoping you are able to help out my mom and dad. If you know my parents, then you also know that they don't like asking for help, but they are always the first ones to offer help. My family would be forever grateful for your donation. And even if you are not able to donate, just reaching out to my mom and dad with your thoughts and prayers would be appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

With love from Lance & Mary Jo’s children:

Laurie, Kristy, Brad, Allie, Winnie, and Ben (along with their spouses)

And their grandchildren:

Oliver, Henry, Mikayla, Zane, Micah, Noah, Charlie, Mia, Tommy, and Lucy