Donation protected
Let me introduce you to our friend Dana,
Our great friend Dana was recently diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colon cancer. He originally found the colon cancer in 2014 and they removed part of his colon. The doctors got all of it, however just after Christmas 2015 he discovered it had metastasized and made it to his lungs. We all have taken the diagnosis pretty hard, but we know he is a fighter and we will conquer this cancer together. The doctors told him without treatment he had a very short time on this earth and with aggressive chemotherapy they could give him more time to spend with his family and friends. So now he is doing Chemo treatments every other week. He goes in on every other Monday morning…gets blood work done, then they get started on the drugs. When he finishes with the drugs at the hospital, they send him home with a portable pump of one of the drugs for 46 hours. At the end of that, he goes back to have them remove the pump and he is free of that until the next time he goes in. It has been an adjustment to say the least. He has to deal with a sensitivity to cold for about a week…which includes cold beverages. On top of that, he also loses his appetite for the week which so far is wearing off about that same time as the cold sensitivity.
Let me tell you about Dana. He is an awesome guy. He is a very giving person who finds it hard to say ‘no’ to those in need. He has been involved with the ACT Ride for a number of years. This is a 4 day/ 300 mile bike ride to help raise money and awareness to those affected by HIV and AIDS. Money stays locally here in the Madison area and also Wisconsin his partner Ron has been fortunate enough to also volunteer and be on the ride with Dana for the past 3 years. Even though he was unable to make it in 2014 due to his colon cancer, he was there in spirit. He also donates a lot of his time and resources to the youth group in his church – McFarland United Church of Christ (McFarland UCC). He had been helped out as a kid by a church youth group growing up in Florida and this is his way to help other youth like he was as a kid. Another big thing he does is manage the FMS Holiday gift drive that benefits clients and client families of the AIDS Resource Center of WI. He spends a lot of time and resources to make it go off smoothly and to ensure everyone has a good Christmas. Ranging from fund raisers to the tree lighting when people can start to pull tags from the giving tree (gift requests) to actually doing the shopping for tags that weren’t pulled…he does it all. It can be stressful at times, but he always manages to pull it together and get it all done in time for the clients to get their gifts in time for Christmas. It is close to his heart and he always gets choked up when he speaks to people about it. Dana is also on the Board for the Hypoparathyroidism Association but even before he was on the board he was on the volunteer board and worked diligently to make the conference wonderful every year. He's always been willing to put forth his time and effort to help others in need. Whether it to help a friend if they need a shoulder or to help an organization with anything they need, he is your man.
Dana is also a family man. Dana met his partner Ron in late 2008, shortly after Dana's partner had passed away due to brain cancer. They have been together ever since, Ron says, "it was like we had known each other forever, we hit it off so well. My 14 yr old daughter adores him. She won’t admit it, but we know she would miss him if he wasn’t in our lives. She thinks of him as a stepdad. He has made it possible for us to see several Broadway shows here at home as well as travel for various vacations. I don’t know what I would without him either. He is always there for me when I need to de-stress."
Dana a very special man to all of us for many different reasons. Please help us help him with his fight with cancer.
Our great friend Dana was recently diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colon cancer. He originally found the colon cancer in 2014 and they removed part of his colon. The doctors got all of it, however just after Christmas 2015 he discovered it had metastasized and made it to his lungs. We all have taken the diagnosis pretty hard, but we know he is a fighter and we will conquer this cancer together. The doctors told him without treatment he had a very short time on this earth and with aggressive chemotherapy they could give him more time to spend with his family and friends. So now he is doing Chemo treatments every other week. He goes in on every other Monday morning…gets blood work done, then they get started on the drugs. When he finishes with the drugs at the hospital, they send him home with a portable pump of one of the drugs for 46 hours. At the end of that, he goes back to have them remove the pump and he is free of that until the next time he goes in. It has been an adjustment to say the least. He has to deal with a sensitivity to cold for about a week…which includes cold beverages. On top of that, he also loses his appetite for the week which so far is wearing off about that same time as the cold sensitivity.
Let me tell you about Dana. He is an awesome guy. He is a very giving person who finds it hard to say ‘no’ to those in need. He has been involved with the ACT Ride for a number of years. This is a 4 day/ 300 mile bike ride to help raise money and awareness to those affected by HIV and AIDS. Money stays locally here in the Madison area and also Wisconsin his partner Ron has been fortunate enough to also volunteer and be on the ride with Dana for the past 3 years. Even though he was unable to make it in 2014 due to his colon cancer, he was there in spirit. He also donates a lot of his time and resources to the youth group in his church – McFarland United Church of Christ (McFarland UCC). He had been helped out as a kid by a church youth group growing up in Florida and this is his way to help other youth like he was as a kid. Another big thing he does is manage the FMS Holiday gift drive that benefits clients and client families of the AIDS Resource Center of WI. He spends a lot of time and resources to make it go off smoothly and to ensure everyone has a good Christmas. Ranging from fund raisers to the tree lighting when people can start to pull tags from the giving tree (gift requests) to actually doing the shopping for tags that weren’t pulled…he does it all. It can be stressful at times, but he always manages to pull it together and get it all done in time for the clients to get their gifts in time for Christmas. It is close to his heart and he always gets choked up when he speaks to people about it. Dana is also on the Board for the Hypoparathyroidism Association but even before he was on the board he was on the volunteer board and worked diligently to make the conference wonderful every year. He's always been willing to put forth his time and effort to help others in need. Whether it to help a friend if they need a shoulder or to help an organization with anything they need, he is your man.
Dana is also a family man. Dana met his partner Ron in late 2008, shortly after Dana's partner had passed away due to brain cancer. They have been together ever since, Ron says, "it was like we had known each other forever, we hit it off so well. My 14 yr old daughter adores him. She won’t admit it, but we know she would miss him if he wasn’t in our lives. She thinks of him as a stepdad. He has made it possible for us to see several Broadway shows here at home as well as travel for various vacations. I don’t know what I would without him either. He is always there for me when I need to de-stress."
Dana a very special man to all of us for many different reasons. Please help us help him with his fight with cancer.
Organizer
Ronald Lee
Organizer
Madison, WI