Help Patrick Afford Cancer Treatment!
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Hi Folks and thank you for clicking to find out more about Patrick’s situation.
About Patrick and His Experience with Cancer:
Patrick is 30 years old and currently lives in Chicago and was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer in 2018. After undergoing an invasive surgery and radiation to treat his cancer, it was determined in September 2019 that he had a new growth that was quickly increasing in size and causing him a great amount of pain, and was causing him to drop weight rapidly. In late November 2019 he took a medical leave of absence from work, and began four rounds of BEP Chemotherapy treatments.
During this time, Patrick experienced a wide-range of side effects which resulted in a great deal of physical pain. He experienced a large jump in heart-rate whenever he moved among many other side effects. The treatment made it very hard for him to move on his own and was in a lot of pain for three months. This kept him very confined to his bed during the months while he received treatment. The first regiment of Chemo overlapped with the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis which brought new concerns and stressers into his situation and health. Cancer treatments will drop your immune system rapidly causing neutropenia, which is something that Patrick experiences after every treatment.
Patrick received a disability claim through his works set program, and was paid $980 a month. During this time, he had accrued about $8,000 in medical bills that he was fully responsible for paying. This included four rounds of Chemo, many doctor’s visits and scans and a visit to the Emergency Room. Things started to pile up to say the least the stresses of life really weighed on him while he was trying to be strong and fight through these treatments.
While Patrick should have been putting all of his energy towards his physical and mental health, he was consumed by the stress of accruing such a great amount of medical bills. This difficult financial situation was the reason he went back to work in July 2020. Just several months after he completed his treatment, he returned to working 40 hours a week at Half Acre Beer Co in Chicago, IL. Patrick was still considered to be at higher-risk due to his fluctuating health and preexisting condition, but his financial situation rushed him back to work. His bills began going to collections and he needed to financially recover from the many months of relying solely on disability. Without having the strength or immune system to work side gigs or overtime at work, which he would continually do, he somehow made the $980 a month work for all his expenses. All the money he had worked so hard to save the previous year was being drained rapidly.
After Patrick’s four rounds of the BEP chemo treatment his doctors began to monitor him closely with Pet Scans and bloodwork. Just months later it appeared that the mass was starting to come back in the same location. His case became difficult because of the growth being so close to his infrarenal aorta, while also being wrapped around his kidney causing a lot of discomfort for Patrick. This took any chance of surgery to remove the mass off the table. His doctors then referred him to Rush Medical University in Chicago to get specialized care.
After meeting with his new teams of doctors at Rush. He underwent many tests for second opinions all while trying to balance a full-time job and the general stresses we all deal with in these times. It was incredibly hard for Patrick to stay positive and get through his day-to-day life. After receiving the results of his tests, his new Oncologist Dr. Tan concluded that surgery would indeed be useless at this point, and that he would like to administer a TIP Chemotherapy treatment. This news was a huge blow to Patrick, who already knows all too well the hardships of chemotherapy and the road ahead of him.
Patrick's Current Health and Financial Needs:
Patrick has completed one of the four rounds of TIP Chemotherapy regimen earlier this October, in addition to rounds of BEP Chemotherapy in 2019, and surgery in 2018. He is back out of work and is spending a week in the hospital every three weeks while he receives treatment. COVID-19 continues to be a large risk for the immunocompromised, and has made these rounds more difficult than his earlier treatments as there are short windows for visitors and more precautions he needs to be taking.
After the amount that Patrick has paid out-of-pocket for his medical bills, he still owes $8,554.62. With the additional two rounds he still needs to complete, he will owe over $12,000 total.
This go-fund-me is a request for donations to contribute to Patricks medical bills. If you are able to help a sweet, compassionate, and hardworking person reduce the amount he owes and the anxiety he is experiencing, it would go a long way. If you are not in a position to help financially, sharing this with others and asking around would also be a tremendous help.
Patrick continues to heal and fight every day and has somehow managed to keep his head on his shoulders since he was originally diagnosed in 2018. This campaign is being run by his close friend. Let’s help Patrick out and show up for a person who would do the same for someone else!!!!!!!!!!!
<3
About Patrick and His Experience with Cancer:
Patrick is 30 years old and currently lives in Chicago and was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer in 2018. After undergoing an invasive surgery and radiation to treat his cancer, it was determined in September 2019 that he had a new growth that was quickly increasing in size and causing him a great amount of pain, and was causing him to drop weight rapidly. In late November 2019 he took a medical leave of absence from work, and began four rounds of BEP Chemotherapy treatments.
During this time, Patrick experienced a wide-range of side effects which resulted in a great deal of physical pain. He experienced a large jump in heart-rate whenever he moved among many other side effects. The treatment made it very hard for him to move on his own and was in a lot of pain for three months. This kept him very confined to his bed during the months while he received treatment. The first regiment of Chemo overlapped with the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis which brought new concerns and stressers into his situation and health. Cancer treatments will drop your immune system rapidly causing neutropenia, which is something that Patrick experiences after every treatment.
Patrick received a disability claim through his works set program, and was paid $980 a month. During this time, he had accrued about $8,000 in medical bills that he was fully responsible for paying. This included four rounds of Chemo, many doctor’s visits and scans and a visit to the Emergency Room. Things started to pile up to say the least the stresses of life really weighed on him while he was trying to be strong and fight through these treatments.
While Patrick should have been putting all of his energy towards his physical and mental health, he was consumed by the stress of accruing such a great amount of medical bills. This difficult financial situation was the reason he went back to work in July 2020. Just several months after he completed his treatment, he returned to working 40 hours a week at Half Acre Beer Co in Chicago, IL. Patrick was still considered to be at higher-risk due to his fluctuating health and preexisting condition, but his financial situation rushed him back to work. His bills began going to collections and he needed to financially recover from the many months of relying solely on disability. Without having the strength or immune system to work side gigs or overtime at work, which he would continually do, he somehow made the $980 a month work for all his expenses. All the money he had worked so hard to save the previous year was being drained rapidly.
After Patrick’s four rounds of the BEP chemo treatment his doctors began to monitor him closely with Pet Scans and bloodwork. Just months later it appeared that the mass was starting to come back in the same location. His case became difficult because of the growth being so close to his infrarenal aorta, while also being wrapped around his kidney causing a lot of discomfort for Patrick. This took any chance of surgery to remove the mass off the table. His doctors then referred him to Rush Medical University in Chicago to get specialized care.
After meeting with his new teams of doctors at Rush. He underwent many tests for second opinions all while trying to balance a full-time job and the general stresses we all deal with in these times. It was incredibly hard for Patrick to stay positive and get through his day-to-day life. After receiving the results of his tests, his new Oncologist Dr. Tan concluded that surgery would indeed be useless at this point, and that he would like to administer a TIP Chemotherapy treatment. This news was a huge blow to Patrick, who already knows all too well the hardships of chemotherapy and the road ahead of him.
Patrick's Current Health and Financial Needs:
Patrick has completed one of the four rounds of TIP Chemotherapy regimen earlier this October, in addition to rounds of BEP Chemotherapy in 2019, and surgery in 2018. He is back out of work and is spending a week in the hospital every three weeks while he receives treatment. COVID-19 continues to be a large risk for the immunocompromised, and has made these rounds more difficult than his earlier treatments as there are short windows for visitors and more precautions he needs to be taking.
After the amount that Patrick has paid out-of-pocket for his medical bills, he still owes $8,554.62. With the additional two rounds he still needs to complete, he will owe over $12,000 total.
This go-fund-me is a request for donations to contribute to Patricks medical bills. If you are able to help a sweet, compassionate, and hardworking person reduce the amount he owes and the anxiety he is experiencing, it would go a long way. If you are not in a position to help financially, sharing this with others and asking around would also be a tremendous help.
Patrick continues to heal and fight every day and has somehow managed to keep his head on his shoulders since he was originally diagnosed in 2018. This campaign is being run by his close friend. Let’s help Patrick out and show up for a person who would do the same for someone else!!!!!!!!!!!
<3
Organizer
Julia Kersten
Organizer
Chicago, IL
