Cancer Medical Cost For Riley Smith
Donation protected
For some time now Riley has been fighting constant vomiting and queasiness. It started a few months ago when he was working in Colorado at a ski resort. He thought it was probably related to the altitude from being a Texas boy. When the job was over, he packed up and moved to New Jersey to be close to his longtime love Bella while she was going to college. He got a very good job climbing and repairing cell phone towers, got his own place, and started establishing his life there. He was also interested in online college himself to get his education in engineering or computer programing going.
Unfortunately, his vomiting and queasiness returned, this time accompanied by chest and shoulder pain, and swelling in the chest and armpits. He decided to have his boss take him to the emergency room on Wednesday, 2/27/2019. They checked him over and immediately ordered Xrays, CT scan, and different tests. He had egg size swellings under his arms and areas of his chest where the lymph nodes are, and the pain was increasing. They consulted an oncologist who initially diagnosed Hodgkin's Lymphoma and decided to do a biopsy on one of his lymph nodes. They ended up taking two whole lymph nodes that were very swollen. We went today, 3/5/2019, to his Oncologist and received the confirmation that it is Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Basically now starts the process of getting a PET scan to locate where the cancer is, and then set up surgery for a chemo port to be inserted into his shoulder, and then regular chemo treatments until it either shrinks and is eradicated, or they decide it's not responding and they have to go to a different or more aggressive approach. There is also the possible option to enter in a new treatment called immunotherapy, which uses very little if any chemo. He has an appointment Monday, 3/11/2019 with Penn Medical to explore those options.
I do have insurance, but the out of pocket expenses look to be considerable until my catastrophic maximum is met. This GoFundMe effort is to help with not only all the medical costs associated with the surgeries and treatment copays and patient responsibilities but also help with Riley's living expenses like rent, utilities, transportation, prior bills, and food due to his incapacitation from work. His job has no positions they can give him while he's in treatment, and he can't climb cell phone towers while he's nauseated from chemo and recovering from any surgeries. He has no car and normally uses public transportation, so he'll be Ubering to all the appointments. He does want to try to stay in New Jersey if at all possible. If he's unable to work during the length of the treatment, he will put the time to good use and start his college education online at home getting his basic courses done.
Thank you for any help you can give. I will post updates regularly to keep anyone concerned informed.
Unfortunately, his vomiting and queasiness returned, this time accompanied by chest and shoulder pain, and swelling in the chest and armpits. He decided to have his boss take him to the emergency room on Wednesday, 2/27/2019. They checked him over and immediately ordered Xrays, CT scan, and different tests. He had egg size swellings under his arms and areas of his chest where the lymph nodes are, and the pain was increasing. They consulted an oncologist who initially diagnosed Hodgkin's Lymphoma and decided to do a biopsy on one of his lymph nodes. They ended up taking two whole lymph nodes that were very swollen. We went today, 3/5/2019, to his Oncologist and received the confirmation that it is Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Basically now starts the process of getting a PET scan to locate where the cancer is, and then set up surgery for a chemo port to be inserted into his shoulder, and then regular chemo treatments until it either shrinks and is eradicated, or they decide it's not responding and they have to go to a different or more aggressive approach. There is also the possible option to enter in a new treatment called immunotherapy, which uses very little if any chemo. He has an appointment Monday, 3/11/2019 with Penn Medical to explore those options.
I do have insurance, but the out of pocket expenses look to be considerable until my catastrophic maximum is met. This GoFundMe effort is to help with not only all the medical costs associated with the surgeries and treatment copays and patient responsibilities but also help with Riley's living expenses like rent, utilities, transportation, prior bills, and food due to his incapacitation from work. His job has no positions they can give him while he's in treatment, and he can't climb cell phone towers while he's nauseated from chemo and recovering from any surgeries. He has no car and normally uses public transportation, so he'll be Ubering to all the appointments. He does want to try to stay in New Jersey if at all possible. If he's unable to work during the length of the treatment, he will put the time to good use and start his college education online at home getting his basic courses done.
Thank you for any help you can give. I will post updates regularly to keep anyone concerned informed.
Organizer
Roger Smith
Organizer
Carrollton, TX
