The Dayhuff Family

**Update 2/7/25

On 2/6 Mike had an MRI scan which unfortunately showed that the tumor has doubled in size which means that Mike is no longer responding to his chemo or avastin infusions. His doctors have advised that Mike stop treatment and enjoy the time he has left. The doctors have given Mike a prognosis of less than 3 months.

**Update 10/14/23

At the beginning of September, Mike started his second treatment plan- which is 5 days of double the amount of chemo and then 23 days off. He will do this for 6 months. He also had to make the difficult decision to step away from work as complications with swelling have been affecting his vision and stability. He had a scan at the beginning of this month which showed the doctors that the swelling has not gone down since radiation and his initial surgery. Fortunately, it looks like the mass has not grown, which is good news- but they need to get the swelling under control. This has led them to schedule another surgery to remove the mass and decrease the swelling. Mikes craniotomy is scheduled for October 20th. Recovery will be about 6 weeks. He will recover in the hospital for the first few days and as long as everything is going well, he will then be able to go home and recover there. The tumor is in a part of his brain that effects vision and speech, so while the doctors are confident in their abilities, there are still some risks to the surgery. He will most likely lose peripheral vision in his right eye, deeming him unable to drive. They are most concerned about his speech, so they will be performing an awake craniotomy so they can stimulate parts of his brain and communicate with him at the same time to help ensure his speech stays intact. This is obviously very daunting but Mike and his family and team of doctors feel optimistic and hopeful this will relieve some of the effects of the swelling.

**update 8/15/23

Mike has finished his first 6 weeks of chemo and radiation! He will take a month off to let his body rest and go back for an MRI in early September. The MRI in September will provide a new baseline of his tumor in order to determine what treatments to use next.

**update 7/7/23

Unfortunately, the biopsy results came back with devastating news. The tumor is a grade 4 glioblastoma. This type of tumor is extremely aggressive and sadly incurable. We did report that the surgery was a success and they removed “most, if not all, of the tumor” and that is true. However, the cancer is regenerating at such a high rate that treatment is unable to keep up. The average life expectancy with this type of cancer is 12-18 months. Mike will have to undergo treatment for the rest of his life to keep the cancer from growing and spreading. We are staying positive and will fight to beat the odds and be here for hopefully years to come.

Mike is feeling motivated to "fight like hell" to be here for his 2-year-old daughter whom he needs to see grow up, 16-year-old daughter he needs to see graduate and help navigate finding her place in this world, 22-year-old daughter who he isn't done watching grow into an amazing young adult and teaching life lessons to, and his wife that he is supposed to grow old with.

We still believe Mike is lucky to be in the best hands possible and thankfully this means there are a few tools available to try and keep Mike healthy a little longer. However, with this fight will come the costs of countless treatments, procedures, medications, and tools.. anything they can do to give Mike a few extra years. Unfortunately, not all of the tools available are covered by insurance and we are unable to get them without help. I urge you to please donate and help give Mike the best chance of a fight and give his family stability as they navigate this treacherous road. Truly, anything helps.

original post:

On June 17th, Mike Dayhuff went to the hospital after feeling disoriented and having trouble seeing from his right eye. They later found a tumor in his brain about the size of a grape.

On June 28th, Mike had surgery to do a biopsy on the tumor, which confirmed it is a high-grade malignant glioma. During the same procedure, they did a laser ablation on the tumor which was very successful. They were able to remove most, if not all, of the tumor.

Mike will have to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments every day for six weeks following the surgery. After six weeks they will take a month break and then do another MRI to assess his progress and if further treatment is required. Once treatment is completed, Mike will have regular scans for the first couple of years to ensure the cancer does not come back.

Mike is unable to drive for the next six months. He will have wonderful sidekicks - his wife, Kelsey, and his daughters: Avi, Lily, and Maya- to assist him as he travels an hour each way to get to daily chemo and radiation treatments for six weeks. Their daily routine will be shaken up a bit but they are excited to begin their road to recovery.

Mike and his family have already incurred numerous medical charges and they still have a long road ahead of them. Please consider donating to help their family. Funds will go toward medical, travel, and lodging expenses.