HOPE for our Dad's Cancer- George Purgason

Many of you may know our dad, George Purgason, as the man who fixes your washing machine on his day off or the man with the big garden in the front yard. He's the hardest working man I know. He's humble, kind-hearted, comical and loving. He means the world to his children and grandchildren. We have created this fundraiser to help fund travel accommodations for a promising 6-week immunotherapy cancer clinical trial in Minneapolis, MN.  

Our Dad has been battling with a rare cancer for the last 5 years. He has a stage IV adenocarcinoma that started in the salivary gland and metastasized to his bones and liver.  His oncologist says that his cancer is non-curative at this point, but we refuse to lose hope with promising new cancer treatments in development. Last January, we had a major scare: the cancer spread to his spine and fractured 3 vertebrae. He nearly lost his ability to walk. He has undergone numerous surgeries and treatments in efforts to stabilize the disease and improve his quality of life, including kyphoplasty with ablation to the spine, neck dissection, chemotherapy, radiation to the neck and pelvis, Herceptin therapy, among others. However, the cancer continues to persist and spread, and we are running out of options.  

Despite the challenging circumstances, he still has his sense of humor and continues to make us laugh. He recently told his oncologist as she palpated his abdomen, "I think that's how you check a watermelon to see if it's ripe." He has done a remarkable job maintaining a positive attitude and making some serious diet/lifestyle changes to help support his health and quality of life with the unfortunate circumstances at hand.  We are so incredibly proud of him.

With that said, his doctors have encouraged him to retire early which has put a financial strain on doing a clinical trial that is out of state for 6 weeks, requiring plane tickets, housing, food, and transport for he and his two daughters, Jewel and myself, Sarah. We have chosen this trial because it is a promising new type of immunotherapy in which patients receive infusions of active NK cells from healthy donors in combination with Herceptin therapy. NK cells are natural “killer cells”, a type of WBC that is critical to the immune system, playing a major role in the host-rejection of tumors.

We feel strongly that this is the right treatment for our dad. We love our dad so much!

Seeking prayers and support in getting my dad, sister and I to Minneapolis, MN to make this trial a possibility. Thank you so much for viewing our page! You can help us out by donating or sharing this page to your Facebook timeline by using the tab in the right-hand corner.  

Sincerely and with Love, 
Sarah Purgason, Jewel Falter-Purgason, and Philip Purgason

P.S. Sarah does not have a facebook, but to verify she is a real person (lol) her instagram profile is linked here: https://www.instagram.com/sarah.purgason/ 

For more information on the clinical trial, visit the links listed below:
https://fatetherapeutics.com/pipeline/immuno-oncology-candidates/nk100/ 
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03319459

George and his garden

George and his daughter, Sarah at UVA Emily Couric Cancer Center

George in his element, in the presence of deer:)