Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share an update about my son, Mason’s fight with cancer. I hope sometime to be able to make a positive post, but it seems I’ll have to wait  

Recently, Mason had a scan that revealed his cancer has spread to his hip bones, and liver. This news has been incredibly difficult and certainly not the news we wanted hear. We are doing our best to stay strong and support him through this challenge. 

The next treatment step will be stem cell therapy. Right now, Mason is registered with the service that helps match donors. Once he has a stem cell match, he will start that treatment. That treatment will require him to be hospitalized for at least three weeks and then spend 100 days in outpatient facility, where he will need a caregiver.  

Due to his illness and current immune therapy treatments, Mason’s immune system is compromised, and he is unable to work. As a result, he is facing significant financial challenges. We are reaching out to our community for support. Any donations, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated and will go towards his travel expenses to treatment and daily needs. 

We understand that times are tough for everyone, and we are grateful for any help you can provide. Your thoughts, prayers, and support mean the world to us.

Thank you for being there for us during this difficult journey.

With gratitude, Joe. 

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to update you on my son Mason’s ongoing battle with cancer. It has been a challenging journey, but your unwavering support has made a significant difference. I’ve been putting off making a post because I wanted to have some sort of positive news. However, Mason’s financial situation is dictating that I do something sooner. So here’s what’s happened since the last post. 

CAR T-Cell Treatment: Mason underwent CAR T-Cell therapy, a groundbreaking immunotherapy that aims to harness the power of his own immune system to fight cancer. Unfortunately, despite our hopes, the treatment did not work. A scan following the treatment showed the tumor was just as bad or worse than when we first discovered it. After that we had to explore other options.

Radiation Therapy: Following the CAR T-Cell treatment, my son received weeks of radiation therapy. The goal was to target the tumor and reduce its size. Mason rolled through radiation and faced it with remarkable strength and resilience. He only complained of a sore throat from some radiation burns making it difficult to swallow. 

New Challenges: Recently, a scan revealed an additional spot in his chest that could be more cancer. It’s a setback, but we remain hopeful while we await those results. My son’s spirit remains unbroken, even as he battles a lung infection that put him back in the hospital for weeks. He has missed a significant amount of work due to his health struggles, and your donations have been a great help during this difficult time.

Gratitude and Humble Request: I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you who has contributed. Your generosity has eased the financial burden and allowed Mason to focus on his recovery. As we continue this fight, I humbly ask for your continued support.

If you can spare anything, whether it’s a donation or simply sharing our story, it would mean a lot. 

Thank you. 

Here’s an update on Mason since the last post. Mason underwent 6 rounds of chemotherapy and multiple other procedures. He lost all of his hair but stayed very active and optimistic throughout. 

However in the end, the chemo was unsuccessful in destroying the tumor. The tumor only shrunk from 11cm to 8cm. 

The doctors have moved to a new treatment called CAR T-Cell therapy. CAR T-cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that uses the patient's own immune cells to fight cancer. In this therapy, T cells (a type of white blood cell) are extracted from the patient's blood and genetically modified in a lab. These CARs help the T cells recognize and attack cancer cells when they are infused back into the patient's body. This treatment has been highly effective and the outlook is good. 

In November Mason had the T-cells extracted and on Dec 12th, after a round of chemo and radiation he started to receive the T cells infusion. He will be in the hospital for the first week, hooked up and getting a continuous infusion. After that he’ll have to go the hospital every day for two weeks. Hopefully this the last hurdle and he’s cancer free afterward. 

Mason will be on leave from work without pay for the month of December and will not be able to drive for 8 weeks from the side effects of the treatment. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated.