Hi there. My name is Rachael Koch, and I have been privileged to call Rachel & Shannon Carlton friends since 2012. Since then, they have become what I call, "family with different DNA." =) They have loved and supported me in countless ways, and at this time, I would like to try to help them in this small way.
As any friend of the Carlton's know, they have been engaged in a battle with kidney cancer for almost 8 years. Shannon was first diagnosed with kidney cancer in the left kidney in January 2011, just two weeks shy of Alexis' second birthday.
Shannon has endured 3 major surgeries, the first in 2011 to remove the tumor from the left kidney, the second in 2012 to remove the entire left kidney after the cancer returned, and the third in 2017 after the cancer spread to the lung to remove a tumor. The metastasis of the cancer to the lung in December 2016 escalated Shannon's cancer to Stage IV.
Since January of 2017 Shannon has endured several attempts at treatment of the cancer with different chemo-therapies. None of these attempts have been successful at curing his cancer, although one of them provided him with about 5 months of tumor suppression. The Carlton's were completely caught off guard a couple of weeks ago in learning that the chemo Shannon was on that gave so much promise, wasn't working at all.
Shannon had inquired back in early 2018 about a clinical trial at the National Institute of Health's (NIH) National Cancer Institute. There wasn't much chance of Shannon getting on the trial, due to the limited number of patients they were taking on the trial, and the long timeline for getting started on the trial. The trial at the NIH that Shannon was interested in was a "cutting edge" trial using genetic modification of his own immune cells to fight the cancer. Similar treatments have shown great results in other types of cancer.
Fast forward 7 months, and on the same day two weeks ago that Shannon learned his chemo wasn't working, about two hours later, he got a call from the research nurse at the NIH. She called to see how he was doing on his current treatment. When she learned that his treatment wasn't working, she told him something that shocked him and his family, there was a spot for him on the trial "right now" with no waiting.
After that phone call, and a family vacation to Orlando, the Carlton's returned home to get a call from Shannon's kidney cancer specialist at Vanderbilt. She called to tell him how excited she was that he has the opportunity to participate in this clinical trial, and that this treatment option available on the trial is the best treatment option available for him right now, including trials at Vanderbilt and other hospitals around the nation. It gives him the best treatment with the potential of some real results. He went the following day for an MRI of the brain which was the only other test needed prior to travelling to the NIH for enrollment in the trial.
Today (Thursday afternoon) the Carlton's learned that they need to travel to the NIH in just 5 days! On Tuesday, Dec 4, they will travel to Bethesda, MD for several days of medical testing to confirm Shannon is physically capable of withstanding the physical demands of the treatment. If all test results meet trial requirements (his doctor's here feel very strongly he is physically capable of participating in the trial) Shannon will sign on to the trial and begin the treatment protocol with a process that will remove his white blood cells. This will require the Carlton's to be at the NIH for about 10 days beginning next week.
They will then return home for about 5 weeks before they head back to the NIH for the actual treatment process. Once they return to the NIH in January 2019, they will be required to live in Bethesda, MD for a minimum of 30 days, about half of which Shannon will be hospitalized. Once Shannon is stable following the treatment, they will return home. After that time, Shannon will be required to return to the NIH periodically (once a month at the beginning) for follow up.
The trial will help with some of the travel costs, but as you can imagine, the additional costs involved in significant time away from home can quickly become overwhelming. Let's come together to support the Carlton's on their Kidney Cancer Journey and alleviate some of the financial burden. Money raised will help the Carlton's with costs associated with seeking the best possible treatment options for Shannon, regardless of location!
If you wish to contribute through this campaign, you can send them money directly on PayPal at paypal.me/KidneyTumorJourney or contribute to the account set up for them at Bank Tennessee (355 S. Hartmann Dr, Lebanon, TN 37087), they will be so appreciative of your support.
Thank you so very much for considering!
As any friend of the Carlton's know, they have been engaged in a battle with kidney cancer for almost 8 years. Shannon was first diagnosed with kidney cancer in the left kidney in January 2011, just two weeks shy of Alexis' second birthday.
Shannon has endured 3 major surgeries, the first in 2011 to remove the tumor from the left kidney, the second in 2012 to remove the entire left kidney after the cancer returned, and the third in 2017 after the cancer spread to the lung to remove a tumor. The metastasis of the cancer to the lung in December 2016 escalated Shannon's cancer to Stage IV.
Since January of 2017 Shannon has endured several attempts at treatment of the cancer with different chemo-therapies. None of these attempts have been successful at curing his cancer, although one of them provided him with about 5 months of tumor suppression. The Carlton's were completely caught off guard a couple of weeks ago in learning that the chemo Shannon was on that gave so much promise, wasn't working at all.
Shannon had inquired back in early 2018 about a clinical trial at the National Institute of Health's (NIH) National Cancer Institute. There wasn't much chance of Shannon getting on the trial, due to the limited number of patients they were taking on the trial, and the long timeline for getting started on the trial. The trial at the NIH that Shannon was interested in was a "cutting edge" trial using genetic modification of his own immune cells to fight the cancer. Similar treatments have shown great results in other types of cancer.
Fast forward 7 months, and on the same day two weeks ago that Shannon learned his chemo wasn't working, about two hours later, he got a call from the research nurse at the NIH. She called to see how he was doing on his current treatment. When she learned that his treatment wasn't working, she told him something that shocked him and his family, there was a spot for him on the trial "right now" with no waiting.
After that phone call, and a family vacation to Orlando, the Carlton's returned home to get a call from Shannon's kidney cancer specialist at Vanderbilt. She called to tell him how excited she was that he has the opportunity to participate in this clinical trial, and that this treatment option available on the trial is the best treatment option available for him right now, including trials at Vanderbilt and other hospitals around the nation. It gives him the best treatment with the potential of some real results. He went the following day for an MRI of the brain which was the only other test needed prior to travelling to the NIH for enrollment in the trial.
Today (Thursday afternoon) the Carlton's learned that they need to travel to the NIH in just 5 days! On Tuesday, Dec 4, they will travel to Bethesda, MD for several days of medical testing to confirm Shannon is physically capable of withstanding the physical demands of the treatment. If all test results meet trial requirements (his doctor's here feel very strongly he is physically capable of participating in the trial) Shannon will sign on to the trial and begin the treatment protocol with a process that will remove his white blood cells. This will require the Carlton's to be at the NIH for about 10 days beginning next week.
They will then return home for about 5 weeks before they head back to the NIH for the actual treatment process. Once they return to the NIH in January 2019, they will be required to live in Bethesda, MD for a minimum of 30 days, about half of which Shannon will be hospitalized. Once Shannon is stable following the treatment, they will return home. After that time, Shannon will be required to return to the NIH periodically (once a month at the beginning) for follow up.
The trial will help with some of the travel costs, but as you can imagine, the additional costs involved in significant time away from home can quickly become overwhelming. Let's come together to support the Carlton's on their Kidney Cancer Journey and alleviate some of the financial burden. Money raised will help the Carlton's with costs associated with seeking the best possible treatment options for Shannon, regardless of location!
If you wish to contribute through this campaign, you can send them money directly on PayPal at paypal.me/KidneyTumorJourney or contribute to the account set up for them at Bank Tennessee (355 S. Hartmann Dr, Lebanon, TN 37087), they will be so appreciative of your support.
Thank you so very much for considering!
Organizer and beneficiary
Rachael Koch
Organizer
Lebanon, TN
Shannon Carlton
Beneficiary