Jeff’s Journey
Donation protected
Cancer. The word that brings even the strongest person to their knees. Aggressive, Rare, Metastatic, Stage 4. String those words all together and it’s hard to hear the rest of what the doctor is saying past the ringing in your ears. Time stands still for a moment. Too many people hear this, and unfortunately our Dad is now one of those people.
The journey started with misdiagnosed pain in his pelvic area. After a routine annual check up, the concern started to build with an abnormally high PSA result. Before he even had a chance to have a biopsy done, his health took a turn for the worst and he was in the hospital hooked up to as much medication as they could give to try to control the unbearable pain that was making even the smallest movements a sheer nightmare. Then the scans started and the doctors’ faces said it all before the words came out of their mouths. The biopsy and later PSMA Pet scan confirmed our worst fears. My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer which has spread to his lymph nodes and almost every bone in his body. He has always been diligent in going to regular checks ups and had his PSA levels tested annually just like every other guy his age, so this was horribly shocking that he would have such an aggressive form. Because prostate cancer is typically a very slow growing cancer that is caught in the early stages, the doctors knew that something was strange with our dad’s case given just how rare and aggressive this cancer was proving to be. Couple the rare and aggressive nature of our dad’s cancer along with the lengthy history of cancer on his side of the family, the doctors ordered genetic testing and he tested positive for the BRCA2 mutation, which explains the aggressiveness. For those who are not familiar with the BRCA2 gene, it typically protects you from cancer but when there is a mutation in that gene, you become very high risk for cancers such as prostate, breast, ovarian, skin, and pancreatic cancer.
For those that don’t know him, our Dad is 59 years old, is married to the love of his life, has 3 daughters (one that’s still in high school), and 2 grandkids. He has a larger than life personality and would give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it. For those that have the honor of truly knowing our Dad, you know that he has never been one to shy away from a battle - but this one will be like nothing he’s ever faced before.
Our Dad will never be cancer free. But our hope is to manage this for as long as possible and give him the absolute best quality of life for as many years as we can. As most cancer is fought, he will have chemo and intensive radiation treatments. To be in the midst of this battle, and have to worry about how to pay the bills makes this almost insurmountable. We are asking for your help in this fight. Our Dad is a full time employee in a line of work that requires substantial amounts of manual labor. He is only 59 years young and plans to continue to work as much as he possibly can. However, even if everything goes perfect and according to plan with absolutely no complications, he will be forced to take many days off for treatment. Every day off, is a day without pay while the medical bills continue to pour in. We are trying to at least alleviate the stress of the financial burden he and our mom will face in the midst of this and we are asking for your help and your prayers.
We will be hosting a fundraiser (details to follow). And we will update this page as his journey continues. Our family appreciates all the positive thoughts you can send his way. Our Dad has been there through every stage of our lives, and we will be there through every stage of his.
F️CK. CANCER.
Ashley, Alexis, and Addison
The journey started with misdiagnosed pain in his pelvic area. After a routine annual check up, the concern started to build with an abnormally high PSA result. Before he even had a chance to have a biopsy done, his health took a turn for the worst and he was in the hospital hooked up to as much medication as they could give to try to control the unbearable pain that was making even the smallest movements a sheer nightmare. Then the scans started and the doctors’ faces said it all before the words came out of their mouths. The biopsy and later PSMA Pet scan confirmed our worst fears. My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer which has spread to his lymph nodes and almost every bone in his body. He has always been diligent in going to regular checks ups and had his PSA levels tested annually just like every other guy his age, so this was horribly shocking that he would have such an aggressive form. Because prostate cancer is typically a very slow growing cancer that is caught in the early stages, the doctors knew that something was strange with our dad’s case given just how rare and aggressive this cancer was proving to be. Couple the rare and aggressive nature of our dad’s cancer along with the lengthy history of cancer on his side of the family, the doctors ordered genetic testing and he tested positive for the BRCA2 mutation, which explains the aggressiveness. For those who are not familiar with the BRCA2 gene, it typically protects you from cancer but when there is a mutation in that gene, you become very high risk for cancers such as prostate, breast, ovarian, skin, and pancreatic cancer.
For those that don’t know him, our Dad is 59 years old, is married to the love of his life, has 3 daughters (one that’s still in high school), and 2 grandkids. He has a larger than life personality and would give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it. For those that have the honor of truly knowing our Dad, you know that he has never been one to shy away from a battle - but this one will be like nothing he’s ever faced before.
Our Dad will never be cancer free. But our hope is to manage this for as long as possible and give him the absolute best quality of life for as many years as we can. As most cancer is fought, he will have chemo and intensive radiation treatments. To be in the midst of this battle, and have to worry about how to pay the bills makes this almost insurmountable. We are asking for your help in this fight. Our Dad is a full time employee in a line of work that requires substantial amounts of manual labor. He is only 59 years young and plans to continue to work as much as he possibly can. However, even if everything goes perfect and according to plan with absolutely no complications, he will be forced to take many days off for treatment. Every day off, is a day without pay while the medical bills continue to pour in. We are trying to at least alleviate the stress of the financial burden he and our mom will face in the midst of this and we are asking for your help and your prayers.
We will be hosting a fundraiser (details to follow). And we will update this page as his journey continues. Our family appreciates all the positive thoughts you can send his way. Our Dad has been there through every stage of our lives, and we will be there through every stage of his.
F️CK. CANCER.
Ashley, Alexis, and Addison
Organiser and beneficiary
Ashley Wenzl
Organiser
Chicago, IL
Debra Szyszka
Beneficiary