Alan's Medical Fund
Donation protected
On Monday, August 10, 2015 our lives completely changed!
I went in to Northwestern Health Sciences Unviersity to have my ankle checked because of a fall and discuss my shortness of breath I had been experiencing for a few weeks. They took X-rays and found a 5" by 6" mass in my chest. From there my wife and I went to Fairview Southdale Hospital. I was admitted and told, after tests and a biopsy, that I have cancer, but what kind we had to wait to find out.
On Friday, August 14, 2015 I received the news from my oncologist that I have Stage 4 Mediastinal Seminoma, a form of testicular cancer. This cancer grows from an embryonic cell that produces your reproductive organs. Sometimes, these cells don't fully descend and can grow or become cancerous mass. They have also found a few spots on my lungs and my lymph nodes have also been affected, and possibly my thoracic spine. I have gone through CT scans, PET scans, MRIs and several blood tests...and I am sure this is not the end of my tests I will have to have.
My treatment plan is Chemotherapy, starting Monday, August 17, 2015. I will have 3 or 4 cycles. Each cycle consists of 3 weeks; week one is 5 days of chemotherapy for 4-6 hours each day; week two and three is chemotherapy on Tuesdays. This will total 9 to 12 total weeks of Chemotherapy.
Within a week I went from presumably healthy to having Stage 4 cancer. It is a lot to process, but my family (including extended family and friends) are vast and have been a great support system thus far. It is true what they say, you know who your true friends are in tough times, and I am proud to say that I have a lot of them!
It is not easy for me to ask for help because I know I am capable of a lot, but that being said I don't know how chemotherapy will affect me and my ability to provide for my family. We are going to have a large amount of medical bills in the very near future and I am asking for your help, regardless if it is $1 or more. Every little bit is greatly appreciated by me and my family.
The best way for me to say Thank You is to beat this, and with your support, financial or otherwise, I know I will!
I went in to Northwestern Health Sciences Unviersity to have my ankle checked because of a fall and discuss my shortness of breath I had been experiencing for a few weeks. They took X-rays and found a 5" by 6" mass in my chest. From there my wife and I went to Fairview Southdale Hospital. I was admitted and told, after tests and a biopsy, that I have cancer, but what kind we had to wait to find out.
On Friday, August 14, 2015 I received the news from my oncologist that I have Stage 4 Mediastinal Seminoma, a form of testicular cancer. This cancer grows from an embryonic cell that produces your reproductive organs. Sometimes, these cells don't fully descend and can grow or become cancerous mass. They have also found a few spots on my lungs and my lymph nodes have also been affected, and possibly my thoracic spine. I have gone through CT scans, PET scans, MRIs and several blood tests...and I am sure this is not the end of my tests I will have to have.
My treatment plan is Chemotherapy, starting Monday, August 17, 2015. I will have 3 or 4 cycles. Each cycle consists of 3 weeks; week one is 5 days of chemotherapy for 4-6 hours each day; week two and three is chemotherapy on Tuesdays. This will total 9 to 12 total weeks of Chemotherapy.
Within a week I went from presumably healthy to having Stage 4 cancer. It is a lot to process, but my family (including extended family and friends) are vast and have been a great support system thus far. It is true what they say, you know who your true friends are in tough times, and I am proud to say that I have a lot of them!
It is not easy for me to ask for help because I know I am capable of a lot, but that being said I don't know how chemotherapy will affect me and my ability to provide for my family. We are going to have a large amount of medical bills in the very near future and I am asking for your help, regardless if it is $1 or more. Every little bit is greatly appreciated by me and my family.
The best way for me to say Thank You is to beat this, and with your support, financial or otherwise, I know I will!
Organizer
Alan Sanford
Organizer
Eden Prairie, MN
