On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, I heard the words no parent ever wants to hear about their child: “Reese has cancer.” Reese is my brilliant and beautiful middle son. He will be 19 on August 21st. Like his older brother Remy, Reese was just about to begin the best part of his life. The part where high school is in the rear view mirror and it’s time to go/be/do the all the awesome real life stuff. 

But now Reese is in fight mode against an extremely rare form of cancer called Epithelioid Sarcoma. Less than 2% of all cancers are sarcomas. Of that 2%, less than 2% are Epithelioid Sarcoma. There are more than 80 types of sarcomas. We quickly discovered that we needed a sarcoma specialist,and preferably a sarcoma team, and immediately went to University of Miami Sylvester Cancer Institute. We didn’t waste any time at all. Reese had a port inserted and was on his first round of chemotherapy in-patient at Holtz Pediatric Hospital in Miami by May 8th. Every three weeks, Reese was admitted for the week to go through vigorous aggressive chemotherapy treatment. He also completed 23 of 25 radiation treatments before getting radiation burn. On July 21st, Reese finished his 4th round of chemotherapy. It’s truly a milestone. Everything you hear about chemotherapy is 100% true. It’s absolutely awful, especially when it’s your child going through it. I think I can speak for both Ray and myself and say both of us wished it was us and not him. Reese is scheduled to be scanned on August 7th. At that time, we will find out if the radiation and chemotherapy had any impact on Reese’s cancer. And then we will know what his options are.  Because it’s such a rare cancer, there’s not a set protocol in place like you would expect for breast cancer, for example. The sarcoma specialists across the world all work together to try to determine what works. We are available for research studies anywhere in the world and are open to travel if necessary. For the last few months, many people have asked what can they do for Reese? Because we don’t know what will happen, we don’t know yet what Reese will need. 

Currently, we are waiting on the scans and hoping for good news. Reese is super grateful for everyone who has reached out. We appreciate you and know he’s on your mind. And we are on your mind and we sincerely thank you.
 I’m starting this Gofundme because lots of people have been requesting it. I think we will be facing very difficult challenges in the near future. Surprises that Reese received really cheered him up. There’s not a lot to look forward to at the moment. So, the unexpected small (but good!) things seem HUGE.
 The sarcoma community has embraced us too and we are so grateful. This is a relatively small “family” of sarcoma warriors and their families who mostly feel like they got the short end of the stick in the cancer community because so little is known about sarcoma. There’s not much money set aside for research for the rarest of the rare cancers.  We never expected to be a part of the sarcoma community, but we’re immediately grateful when we got a special visit and awesome support from SIDES at a time when everything felt impossible.   From the start, Reese has been dealing with this way better than I have. I admire his fortitude and optimism. I always say that he’s my apple and I’m his tree. But he’s much stronger than me. I’m trying to live like Reese who is very much in the moment. One day at a time. The donation money will be used towards Reese’s medical bills, expenses of medical care like his medication, travel, and unexpected things that pop up like sperm banking (which we did first).  Reese lost 20 pounds so he needs to eat like it’s his job. Whatever Reese needs, this will help him get it. Whatever he doesn’t need will go towards sarcoma research. No one should be in the position he is in.  Three hours after I created this Gofundme, I rushed Reese to the emergency room at Holtz Pediatric Hospital in Miami. This is a very unpredictable situation and aside from the time and distance and energy required, it’s a full-time job for both myself and Reese. We are committed to beating cancer and changing the outlook for all people (mostly children) diagnosed with Epithelioid Sarcoma. #TeamReese

Jessica Helmer

Mark DeCosmo

Sloane Zane

Susan Graham

Johanna Diaz

Dawn Yellin

Seth Prezant

Anonymous

Susan Marcovsky

Stacey Goldberg

Tricia Seery

Robin Hodes

Lainie Simon

Jill Glanzer

Ellyn Okrent

Reese Garcia’s Battle Against Cancer Sarcoma

Reese Garcia’s Battle Against Cancer Sarcoma

Still $152,265 to go. Help us build momentum.