For Hector

April 2023

Hello, my name is Kelly and I’m starting this GoFundMe to save my husband’s life. My husband’s name is Hector and since December of 2019, he has been in the battle against cancer. On April 4th, 2023, we were told that the disease had returned and metastasized for the 3rd time. Hector has undergone 2 surgeries, one of them major, and three, three week long rounds of chemo in an effort to cure this ailment. With all the treatments, we were reassured it would cure him, but here we are. I’ve explained in more detail at the end of this bio.

We’ve been down this road many times now in these three and a half years, and we’ve learned a great deal. This time, similar to the last couple of times, our doctors offered chemo or death. This time, however, the chemo was described to us as an atomic bomb that would be far more difficult that the previous one and would almost certainly have life altering negative side effects. We took a breath, and decided we had a choice.

During this entire process, Hector has made massive change in his life. He has adjust everything from what he eats to exercise and sleep to supplements and countless other things. He researches tirelessly on a cure. Among this research, we came across an alternative healing facility in Arizona. This facility not only treats with chemo, but they perform every type of alternative medicine on the patient that has real proof in curing cancer. Their curability rates are higher than the “atomic bomb”, and do not leave the patient with life long negative side effects. We’ve chosen this route of treatment.

Because it is alternative, it is not covered by insurance, so we are asking for help. It is expensive, but so is the conventional route. Even with all of the other treatment and procedures being “covered”, Hector and I have paid a great deal out of pocket the past 3 years. Unfortunately, chemo and surgeries are still very expensive, even for the insured. To add to it, CT with contrast is the only scan that accurately detects this type in this case. Hector is allergic to the contrast has, so he must take “pre-meds” before every scan and must receive them in a hospital in case he has a reaction, so the scans cost exponentially more as well.

We have reached a point of being at our limit and are turning to others for help. We will do whatever we must in order to get this treatment for Hector as we believe it to be the real cure. The cost for six weeks of this treatment plus required medications and housing adds up to over $95,000. The goal amount listed includes the treatment, lodging and food while living in AZ.

This is not a sad story. I share in order to be transparent, and the words in this bio are merely a drop in the bucket of what we have experienced, but this is just another step in this journey. Hector and I have been together for nearly 20 years. We started dating in high school. We both served in the Marine Corps for 5 years and have two beautiful daughters, Elawen, 7 and Eden, 5. Hector has accomplished so much, even with all of these diagnoses. Since first diagnosed in 2019, he has graduated CalArts with a Bachelors in Fine Art, started an art practice, and worked for Golden Voice as a painting artist meanwhile fighting for his life the entire time, and he is not done yet. He’s experienced so much in his life, good and bad, and thrived despite it all. If I have learned anything about this man, it’s that he is a survivor. I know he will survive this and he will take what he has learned from this incredible journey to help any and every person he can. And I will be with him every step of the way. If you are able to give, we appreciate it more than we could possibly say. And if you are not able, we appreciate prayers for healing and positive thoughts as well.

In depth story:

Hector had his first surgery in February of 2020. The doctors told us, “you’re lucky, this is the type (Seminoma) that doesn’t tend to move. This surgery has very likely cured you.” At his first scan following the surgery in May 2020, the doctors said there was some shading in his lower back. At the time, he was getting CTs without contrast because we found out after his first one that he is very allergic to CT contrast, so we attempted scans without it but it made them unclear. He had a follow up MRI in June that was still not clear, a PET in July that was inconclusive and finally a biopsy in July that revealed the cancer was now in 3 lymph nodes in his lower back. The doctors wanted to start chemo. We hesitated. We got 3 more opinions and decided in early 2021 that chemotherapy was the best option, as the doctors assured us, “100%, this chemo will get rid of the cancer for good.” Hector started Chemo in April of 2021. It was incredibly difficult and caused us to go into complete isolation for 2 months as it completely diminished his immune system. We were advised that our two young daughters and myself should double mask around him, even in the house. We implemented every precaution and Hector successfully completed the chemo May 31st 2021. His first follow up scan in June showed clear. We felt the first real relief we had felt in nearly 2 years. The next scan was clear as well. Then, the scan in January 2022 showed something growing. Hector was still not able to do CT with contrast, so they performed a PET. The doctors told us on March 8th, 2022 that the cancer had returned and had spread and surgery wasn’t an option. Within our first minute of the doctor walking into the office, our world was once again turned upside down. He could not say why the chemo, the 100% cure, did not work. He then recommended what he called the “atomic bomb of chemo”. In short, this is a process in which the patient receives a lethal amount of chemo and then receives “stem cell rescue” from their own, previously frozen stem cells in order to save their life. The treatment is in San Diego, so we quickly made an appointment there. We learned the treatment would take about 4 months and Hector would be hospitalized for a few weeks at a time throughout the process. He would have no immune system, and we wouldn’t be allowed to see our daughters for the duration. This treatment has a 60% chance of curing the patient. We were terrified, but willing and began planning for it. The doctors at UCSD would only move forward after seeing the scans themselves. After they received the scans, we received a phone call that seemingly made the air easier to breathe. The doctors disagreed with the previous oncologist. They said it had not “spread” to the adrenal gland like they thought, but was instead in a lymph node near the adrenal gland; surgery was an option. Hector had life saving and life altering surgery on April 27th, 2022. It took over 4 hours. However, the prognosis was excellent. They removed 15 lymph nodes and the left adrenal gland (as the lymph node was stuck to it) and only 3 of the lymph nodes had cancer. Life felt like it was moving again. The recovery from the surgery was very difficult as Hector was cut down his abdomen and left with a foot long incision, but it was worth it. The following scan in August 2022 was clear. Then in November of 2022, Hector found a lump in the base of his neck near the clavicle, bringing back that sinking feeling again. He had a scan on December 6th, 2022, which revealed 2 lymph nodes near the base of his esophagus by the left lung had increased in size and looked suspicious. They didn’t mention the lump in his neck. They wanted to biopsy, but we declined. Hector had been cut on, poked and picked on enough. We wanted to decrease the trauma. We asked if we could just wait for one more scan to see if they grew, and the doctors understood and agreed. This brings us to the results we got on April 3rd, 2023. The masses had grown and the one in his neck was included.

Thank you so much for reading and for your time.