The Swans - Matt and Heather
My beautiful daughter’s husband and partner in crime, Matt, has recently been diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, aka Blood Cancer. On Tuesday, March 23rd they learned that Matt’s cancer is a little further progressed than originally thought. For those of you that do not know Matt, he is an earth science teacher for junior high students (better him than me) and a very active outdoorsman with high energy. He enjoys biking, hiking and camping. I can only imagine his hospital stay will be similar to keeping a two-year old down and I mean that in a very loving way.
Matt will go into the hospital April 1 (the date is not lost on any of us) and will be there for two to four weeks, depending on how he reacts to the treatment. As with all things medical, there will be expenses that are not covered by insurance. If you would like to donate to my Go Fund Me Page all of the funds will go directly to Heather and Matt to cover out-of-pocket expenses related to his treatment and care.
Details about Matt’s treatment: Because of his age (52), traditional treatment methods are not long-term treatment options. Matt and Heather consider themselves very blessed as once Matt was diagnosed, an appointment was set within a week and a half at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. And, at the appointment Matt found out he was eligible and a good candidate for a clinical trial that started in January 2021. He will be one of 20 participants in St. Louis. It is a phase two trial, which means that everybody in the study is receiving the medication. The goal is for him to go into full remission so he can receive a stem cell transplant.