Support Sam’s Battle Against Malignant Melanoma

On December 13th 2024, my brother-in-law, Sam Nelson, received a life changing call from his doctor. The biopsy results from a lump in his neck showed he had advanced Malignant Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer there is. This was obviously surprising, devastating, and terrifying news to Sam, his family, and friends.

Sam starts treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester on January 13th where he will receive two rounds of immunotherapy over 6 weeks and then have surgery to remove the tumorous lymph node. Further treatment will be determined by his oncology team based on the impact of the immunotherapy and surgery.

Due to Sam’s independent work as a self-employed carpenter, PTO/paid sick time is not available to him. And much like chemotherapy, immunotherapy can have many side effects such as fatigue and nausea. We want Sam to focus on healing and spending quality time with his family. This diagnosis also unfortunately comes at a time when his wife, Emily Gilsvik, made the decision to take a year off from her job as a teacher to look after their infant daughter. As a result, the family is currently without any income.

We are reaching out to Emily and Sam’s amazing community to ask for your help during this difficult time. Any contribution, big or small, or even just sharing this page with others will make a difference and help alleviate the financial strain on Emily and Sam.

All funds raised will be used for income replacement for Sam and Emily, the needs of their three children, Jasper (8); Kai (5); and Ada (6 months) as well as to fill in the gaps of what health insurance does not cover. Cancer treatment can be quite expensive, and Sam’s journey has only just started. Thank you so much for being part of their support system!