William Ortiz Funeral Fund

In June of 2010, Willie was first diagnosed with Stage 3B Lung Cancer. He was 42. The hospital sent him home and told his family to call hospice. But, Willie being the fighter he is, went in for a second opinion and was diagnosed with Stage 3A Lung Cancer. Although medically it appears that there is only a small difference between the two stages, it made a world of difference. With this new diagnosis, he was a good candidate to undergo 35 rounds of radiation and 4 seven day rounds of chemotherapy before having his left upper lung removed. AWESOME RIGHT!! Willie overcame all of the obstacles that were laid before him and was in remission by March 2011. He was once again able to enjoy life with his family. He is blessed to have his wife, and their 9 children and 7 grandchildren.

In October 2013, Willie began to feel ill again and after 2 hospitalizations, he was diagnosed once again with cancer... This time a blood cancer... AML Leukemia.  He underwent treatment in December 2013, missing out on much of the family holidays and celebrations, sad to say with no success.... But, he was referred to the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic at Temple University for a clinical trial that was being offered. Only two facilities in the country were offering this clinical trial. He first had to undergo review to see if he would be a good candidate. Once again, he was blessed with the approval in February of 2014. Willie underwent another  8 six day cycles of chemotherapy and 9 bone marrow biopsies with once again little success.  During this time we organized "Will's Team", a group of supporters to help and encourage Willie in his fight against Cancer.

Willie fought  hard and battled cancer with all of his might. Unfortunately Willie exhausted all options of treatment and passed away on December 9th.

Willie has touch and blessed our lives in countless ways - we hope by sharing his journey he will also have the opportunity to bless and impact your life as well. Thank you for allowing him into your heart. Were now faced with costly medical and funeral bills.    Would you consider helping us one more time as we face these difficult times?  So, as we are all part of <Will's TEAM> Please keep Him and his family in your prayers.