Supporting John Through Cancer

Our beloved father, husband, friend, teacher, and brother in Christ has been diagnosed with bladder & lung cancer. John and his family humbly reach out to his community to ask for support, financially and spiritually, as he fights this cancer and endures the financial burden of missed work and medical expenses. If you are interested to hear more about John's recent battle, please read on.

As some of you may already know, John has been facing several health challenges since January of 2020 when he was diagnosed with heart failure. Since then, John, his family, and his doctors have worked diligently, amid a pandemic, at optimizing his heart health through diet modification, medication, and exercise.

However, in early 2022, John began suffering from a series of recurring bladder infections and UTIs. These were accompanied by groin pain, lower back pain, and rectal discomfort. After meeting with his Urologist, it was determined that John had multiple strictures in his urethra, most likely caused by scarring from a steel catheter that was used during an innovative open-heart surgery he underwent at the age of nine.

During the procedure to correct these strictures, his surgeon noticed the bladder was severely inflamed and infected. A biopsy of bladder tissue was taken for sampling at that time. The results showed that he had high-grade bladder cancer.

After the bladder cancer diagnosis, John was still experiencing intense pain and discomfort - in addition to fatigue and shortness of breath. He was brought in for an additional CT scan of his pelvic region to check if the bladder cancer had spread to surrounding areas. The results showed no metastasis within the pelvis. However, the scan revealed that he had Pleural Effusion on his right lung. This fluid had caused the lower portion of the lung to partially collapse. The impaired lung function was the primary cause of his respiratory distress. The next steps were to drain the fluid and have it biopsied to determine whether it contained cancerous cells. An additional CT scan of the chest and lungs was also ordered.

The biopsy of the fluid indicated no malignancy was present in the fluid itself. However, the lung CT scan revealed multiple cancerous nodules in John's lungs - indicating that the cancer had spread and was Stage IV. At the time of writing, John is still waiting to have his lung tissue biopsied to shed more light on the type of lung cancer and its progression.

Since the lung cancer diagnosis, John has had a few ER and Hospital visits to have the fluid on his right lung drained as it's become a recurring issue and continual cause of respiratory distress. John will be given a Chest Tube so that he can drain this fluid at home daily. Chemotherapy will begin as soon as John's condition improves and the details of the lung tissue biopsy results are known. As of now, the tentative start date for treatment is the week of July 1st. We hope that he will have regained enough strength by this date to undergo treatment.

We are seeking financial support from his many friends, family, fans, and brothers and sisters in Christ. As you know, John is a very talented working musician, who has blessed many with his incredible musical gifts through both performing and private guitar lessons. John has organized and hosted musical charity events over the years to raise money for various causes. He has also given the gift of music to hundreds of students throughout his teaching career - as well as offering scholarships and discounts to families when they fell on hard times. The recent COVID-19 pandemic hindered his ability to perform, but it allowed him to focus more on teaching and helping students of all ages reach their musical potential. Over the last two years, teaching online and in-person has been his sole source of income.

During his upcoming fight with cancer, John may be too fatigued to continue working. The medical bills from the recent/upcoming tests, chemotherapy, integrative regimens, palliative care, and optimized nutritional approach may be more than can be afforded. Any money raised from this GoFundMe will be put towards these expenses. John has also been advised to eat an organic diet and shop at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and the local Farmer's Market. As some of you may know, eating healthy in today's world isn't cheap. All money raised from this GoFundMe will be put towards all of the expenses listed above.

John has a fighting spirit, but it would be a lie to say that this diagnosis hasn't also taken a mental toll on him and his loved ones. Whatever the circumstance, anyone who has had an opportunity to meet John knows that he possesses a generous and loving heart, and has strived daily to walk in the footsteps of Christ. Let’s show him the same generosity and love in return.

John has an intense battle ahead of him, one that he is capable of winning with the support and love of his community. Let’s show him that he is not in this fight alone.