Dawud Potak-Gibbs Memorial Fund
Donation protected
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing this courageous fighter, who left this Earth on April 21. He passed peacefully with his beautiful wife and daughter by his side. His brave fight against this terrible cancer was an inspiration to us all.
#pgstrong forever
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Some of you may know our brother-in-law, Dawud “Dave” Potak-Gibbs, loving husband to our sister, Laura and new father to our niece, Summer, but you might not know that he is fighting a very rare and aggressive type of kidney cancer called Renal Medullary Carcinoma. It has metastasized to his lungs and bones, putting him in Stage 4. Below you will find the story of his difficult journey thus far. Thank you for visiting his page, keeping him and his beautiful family in your thoughts and prayers, sharing their story, and, of course, your donations! His family is so grateful for all your support during this very challenging time.
In January 2016, Dave and Laura were overjoyed to find out that they were expecting their first child. Dave has always been active and when he broke his arm playing basketball, he expected his recovery to follow a normal course. A couple weeks later he had blood in his urine, which was also expected to be something minor like kidney stones. He got a routine CT scan, and in the beginning of April, everyone (including his doctor) was shocked to learn that there was tumor on his right kidney, which had also spread to his liver. The fracture was then determined to be a pathological fracture due to cancer cells that had spread from his kidney. In mid-April, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 renal medullary carcinoma, which is an incurable cancer that primarily affects young African-American men and women that carry the sickle cell trait. So far, Dave has defied the very grave odds. To fight the cancer, he began aggressive chemotherapy treatment in April. He went through 6 cycles of chemo from April until the end of August, and the chemo helped to stabilize and even shrink some of the cancer lesions and tumors. In October, he had scans repeated and while most of the lesions were stable, there were some small growths so he became eligible to start a clinical trial in NYC. He started the trial on November 23 and will remain on the medicine indefinitely, for as long as he can tolerate it. The trial will require frequent trips to NYC for monitoring.
While all of this has been going on, Dave and his brave wife, Laura became new parents. Their beautiful daughter, Summer Luz, was born on October 11. She instantly became Daddy’s Little Girl, and she has filled their hearts with much joy and promise. Dave and Laura remain unbelievably strong and dedicated to this fight, and Summer, whose middle name is Spanish for “light”, is their guiding light.
Please help us to continue to spread the word about Dave. He is an amazing and beautiful person with an infectious smile and huge heart. Dave has been unable to work since March 2016 and has incurred substantial medical expenses, but their family has survived on savings, Laura’s income, and the support and generosity of friends and family. But as they face continued medical costs, travel costs, and the loss of his income while he fights this battle, they have realized that they need more help. They have humbly accepted our offer to start a GoFundMe campaign, as the future is uncertain and they want to be able give their daughter a secure start in life, as well as make memories together as a family. Please join us in sharing the load for him. I know that he will be profoundly grateful for all of the love and support for him and his family. Dave, Laura and Summer need all the love and support we can provide.
#pgstrong forever
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Some of you may know our brother-in-law, Dawud “Dave” Potak-Gibbs, loving husband to our sister, Laura and new father to our niece, Summer, but you might not know that he is fighting a very rare and aggressive type of kidney cancer called Renal Medullary Carcinoma. It has metastasized to his lungs and bones, putting him in Stage 4. Below you will find the story of his difficult journey thus far. Thank you for visiting his page, keeping him and his beautiful family in your thoughts and prayers, sharing their story, and, of course, your donations! His family is so grateful for all your support during this very challenging time.
In January 2016, Dave and Laura were overjoyed to find out that they were expecting their first child. Dave has always been active and when he broke his arm playing basketball, he expected his recovery to follow a normal course. A couple weeks later he had blood in his urine, which was also expected to be something minor like kidney stones. He got a routine CT scan, and in the beginning of April, everyone (including his doctor) was shocked to learn that there was tumor on his right kidney, which had also spread to his liver. The fracture was then determined to be a pathological fracture due to cancer cells that had spread from his kidney. In mid-April, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 renal medullary carcinoma, which is an incurable cancer that primarily affects young African-American men and women that carry the sickle cell trait. So far, Dave has defied the very grave odds. To fight the cancer, he began aggressive chemotherapy treatment in April. He went through 6 cycles of chemo from April until the end of August, and the chemo helped to stabilize and even shrink some of the cancer lesions and tumors. In October, he had scans repeated and while most of the lesions were stable, there were some small growths so he became eligible to start a clinical trial in NYC. He started the trial on November 23 and will remain on the medicine indefinitely, for as long as he can tolerate it. The trial will require frequent trips to NYC for monitoring.
While all of this has been going on, Dave and his brave wife, Laura became new parents. Their beautiful daughter, Summer Luz, was born on October 11. She instantly became Daddy’s Little Girl, and she has filled their hearts with much joy and promise. Dave and Laura remain unbelievably strong and dedicated to this fight, and Summer, whose middle name is Spanish for “light”, is their guiding light.
Please help us to continue to spread the word about Dave. He is an amazing and beautiful person with an infectious smile and huge heart. Dave has been unable to work since March 2016 and has incurred substantial medical expenses, but their family has survived on savings, Laura’s income, and the support and generosity of friends and family. But as they face continued medical costs, travel costs, and the loss of his income while he fights this battle, they have realized that they need more help. They have humbly accepted our offer to start a GoFundMe campaign, as the future is uncertain and they want to be able give their daughter a secure start in life, as well as make memories together as a family. Please join us in sharing the load for him. I know that he will be profoundly grateful for all of the love and support for him and his family. Dave, Laura and Summer need all the love and support we can provide.
Organizer and beneficiary
Sarah Scarola
Organizer
Plymouth Meeting, PA
Dawud Potak-Gibbs
Beneficiary
