Many of us have the privilege of having “forever friends”. For Alain, it’s his group of Ramey friends (more like brothers) he has known since he was ten years old growing up in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. They see each other as often as they can despite the miles apart and distractions of adulting. As we all were making plans to attend a celebration of life for Robert, a friend in the group who sadly lost his battle with cancer this year at just 58 years old, we got a call so shocking it didn’t seem real. Our dear friend Tony Torres, the group’s laid-back California boy, music lover, photographer, teacher and THE BEST health coach and personal trainer, had just been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon and liver cancer. What??? All we could think was: THIS. CAN’T. BE. HAPPENING. AGAIN! And then, F’ING CANCER! We later learned that Tony started to lose weight recently, and he also noticed some unexplained muscle loss. This prompted a visit to the doctor, who found a cancerous tumor in his descending colon that had spread to his liver, making his condition stage 4 colorectal cancer without the possibility of surgery. Due to the type of health insurance Tony has, his oncologist offered chemotherapy as the only treatment option to “possibly” prolong his life. Other experimental, but promising, treatments were not offered to him. After such a bleak and shocking diagnosis, Tony researched and discovered the availability of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is the latest therapy in the fight against cancer, where the immune system is “trained” to destroy cancer cells. It is considered experimental (despite many promising results and studies) and is very expensive in the US. Immunotherapy treatment will cost more than $27,000 and is not covered by insurance. Even with Tony’s life savings and help from loved ones, there is a big shortfall. Time is of the essence. Treatment needs to start by early July to have the best chance of saving Tony’s life. Being a personal trainer for the last 27 years, Tony has always lived a healthy lifestyle, taking good care of himself and practicing what he preached with nutrition and exercise. He has dedicated his life to helping his clients, ranging from children to seniors, improve their fitness levels, posture, and physical dysfunctions. He is supremely knowledgeable about the human body and is generous with using his knowledge to support others. Last year, Tony also became a substitute teacher to further help kids in his community. He will not give up and neither will we! We started this Go Fund Me page because WE REFUSE TO LOSE ANOTHER DEAR FRIEND TO CANCER and the failures of a healthcare system that is more money-centered than patient-centered. You know how this goes. Every little bit helps and gives hope. Please give, share this page and feel free to reach out for more information or other ways to donate. Also please include Tony in your prayers. We thank you for your help from the bottom of our hearts, Alain and Donna Pouleriguen