Lance Mason Medical Fund
Donation protected
Our friend Lance Mason, a US Navy veteran, husband and father of two, has been battling a very rare cancer called blastic plasma Cytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (bpcdn). Lance was first diagnosed with BPCDN in Feb 2013. In Sep 2013 Lance received a bone marrow transplant from his brother Brian at the National Institute of health (NIH). In Sep 2014 he was declared to be in remission. Unfortunately in March 2015 he relapsed and began chemo treatments again. Fortunately in May 2015 he was transferred to Duke University hospital where he has continued his cycle of chemo treatments every four weeks while trying to qualify for a clinical drug trail to help him fight this deadly disease.
As you can imagine this time this has taken a toll on Lance, Karen and their kids emotionally and financially. Since transferring to Duke they have been maintaining 2 homes and a lot of medical bills. This money will be used for the bills and keep them in the rental home near Duke University Hospital while they continue chemo and wait to get into a trial program.
Update 1/19/2016
First and foremost I want to thank Don Wilson and the people that assisted him in getting the page up and running.
Karen and I think it is important to communicate why we are requesting help. First of all, this is the second time in the last 3 years that I was unable to work for an extended period of time. The first instance caused me to miss about 9 months. Due to the nature of my position, short term and long term disability insurance is not a benefit that I have available to me. In order to cover bills (medical/living expenses) it was necessary to withdraw a significant amount of money from my 401k. Since the IRS does not deem my situation as a valid reason to withdraw funds, I was forced to pay a penalty on the funds I withdrew. Additionally,Karen had to greatly reduce her hours to be my caregiver. Karen's company (OG Systems) support has been incredible throughout this difficult time. I cannot thank them and their employees enough for the help and support.
Since the return of my cancer in March and once I completed care at the National Institute of Health, it was determined that my best chance for extending my life was to become part of a drug trial. The trial I am working to become a part of can range for 3 to 8 months for treatment. Unfortunately I have not been able to start on the trial for a number of medical reasons. I anticipate getting accepted within the next couple of months once various infections and viruses are resolved. As with the first round of treatment, I have withdrawn as much as I could from my retirement accounts. My target for remaining care is based on previous bills and new bills that we have taken on since we are forced to live close to the clinics running the trial (Durham NC).
I am not a person that looks for handouts or a bailout due to bad decisions. This disease picked me and I am fighting as much as I can. Please donate if you can. Thank you for your support and encouragement. For those of you that were able to donate: Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
Karen and Lance Mason
As you can imagine this time this has taken a toll on Lance, Karen and their kids emotionally and financially. Since transferring to Duke they have been maintaining 2 homes and a lot of medical bills. This money will be used for the bills and keep them in the rental home near Duke University Hospital while they continue chemo and wait to get into a trial program.
Update 1/19/2016
First and foremost I want to thank Don Wilson and the people that assisted him in getting the page up and running.
Karen and I think it is important to communicate why we are requesting help. First of all, this is the second time in the last 3 years that I was unable to work for an extended period of time. The first instance caused me to miss about 9 months. Due to the nature of my position, short term and long term disability insurance is not a benefit that I have available to me. In order to cover bills (medical/living expenses) it was necessary to withdraw a significant amount of money from my 401k. Since the IRS does not deem my situation as a valid reason to withdraw funds, I was forced to pay a penalty on the funds I withdrew. Additionally,Karen had to greatly reduce her hours to be my caregiver. Karen's company (OG Systems) support has been incredible throughout this difficult time. I cannot thank them and their employees enough for the help and support.
Since the return of my cancer in March and once I completed care at the National Institute of Health, it was determined that my best chance for extending my life was to become part of a drug trial. The trial I am working to become a part of can range for 3 to 8 months for treatment. Unfortunately I have not been able to start on the trial for a number of medical reasons. I anticipate getting accepted within the next couple of months once various infections and viruses are resolved. As with the first round of treatment, I have withdrawn as much as I could from my retirement accounts. My target for remaining care is based on previous bills and new bills that we have taken on since we are forced to live close to the clinics running the trial (Durham NC).
I am not a person that looks for handouts or a bailout due to bad decisions. This disease picked me and I am fighting as much as I can. Please donate if you can. Thank you for your support and encouragement. For those of you that were able to donate: Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
Karen and Lance Mason
Organizer and beneficiary
Don Wilson
Organizer
Centreville, VA
Karen Mason
Beneficiary
