Clay's Dad Could Use Your Help...

AND SOME OF YOU WERE CONCERNED ABOUT SIDE-EFFECTS....

Just before leaving for Oklahoma my 7th grade English teacher visited and was greatly concerned that "Proton Therapy" would do irreparble harm to my body.  As you can see I'm doing just fine.  I don't know what she was so concerned about!

Seriously, we've been doing very well and expect a full recovery after treatment and "really" there have been zero side-effects up to this point.  God has clearly answered many of our prayers.  Healing, Housing and Christian Fellowship.  The only lasting concern is that financially it may take some time to recover.

If you are one of the 3,000 folks to visit this site and have not yet shared in this need please consider doing so.  If you'd prefer you may send donations directly to:

Jeff Pearson
1057 Mower Road
Chambersburg, PA  17202

P.S.  Really grateful to the local church that has blessed us with a significant gift just one week after we returned home.  Also really appreciate the extra gift that one of our business customers added to their bill.  They said they wanted to help out with my cancer fund, but didn't get around to it till we came to service their lawn mower this week.  The unexpected gifts have been a great encouragement!


COULD YOU KINDLY DO US A FAVOR AND PLEASE SHARE THIS NEED WITH YOUR FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK.

AND PLEASE... IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WITH BREAST, PROSTATE, LUNG, OR SPINAL CANCERS LOOK UP PROCURE PROTON THERAPY IN OKLAHOMA CITY.  They have a lot of experience and the treatment I recieved caused absolutely no debilitating side-effects as many other treatments do. 




PRESERVE ME, O GOD: FOR IN THEE DO I PUT MY TRUST.                                                                          Psalm 16:1

In the winter of 2015 I received the lab results of my first-ever PSA test... It was 15.4!  I was ignorant of the facts related to prostate cancer and at the time I was more concerned about catching a virus at the doctor's office, so I waited till flu season had passed. 

When I arrived at the doctor's office he asked me what doctor told me that it was o.k. to wait two months before coming to see him with such results!  I had to admit that I was THAT doctor!  He was beside himself as he explained the number 15.4 was HUGE!  This was the beginning of my visit with FEAR...

He told me that I needed to see a Urologist ASAP for further testing.  Soon a dark cloud began to envelope my life and time seemed to come grinding to an agonizingly slow pace.  All I could see was pain, suffering and of course my certain demise. 

There were two thoughts that absolutely troubled me...  I was about to go back to God and felt that I had little fruit to show for my faith.  As a matter of fact I was really wondering where my faith was because I couldn't seem to muster it up right at the moment.

The other persistent concern was that I would be leaving my wife and son to struggle on their own and they just weren't ready for that yet.   I pleaded with God and yet I could not shake the ominous cloud, which threatened to grow darker with each passing day.

The Psalms had become especially comforting during this time and chapter 23 seemed very relevant... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  

There it was... The VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH...  Not necessarily a reality, but a shadow and the Scriptures were again reminding me to take courage, that God's presence was assured during this new and unwelcome circumstance.   

It's pretty easy for a conscientious person to condemn himself for not being able to see light at the end of the tunnel.  And it's also pretty easy for other well-meaning folks to admonish those who are traversing new and difficult territory, but I just love how the Scriptures support the weary and the downtrodden with hope and encouragement rather than condemnation.  God knew before we were even born that we would have dark valleys to walk through and He has provided us with ample help and direction throughout the pages of His Word!  And besides personal prayer, the Bible is where I turn daily for such aid.

Facing the Facts...
Much of what I experienced in the days of darkness was not based on FACT, but that doesn't mean the feelings were not REAL.  I was going to need to trust God for yet another trial... And even though more than a year has passed since diagnosis, I still have to CHOOSE TRUST over the ever present temptation to FEAR.

My First Appointment with a Urologist...
I made the appointment with a local Urologist and his first suggestion was that I have a "radical".   In other words get on the table and let his high tech robot remove my prostate.  Through further study I found out that this could potentially make me impotent or cause me to wear diapers for the rest of my life.  This doesn't happen to everyone, but these are common side-effects that some men have to cope with for the rest of their lives.  Another statistic is that 1 out of every 200 men die on the table!   My new Urologist handed me a book that ultimately left us with the impression that having the prostate removed would be the best option...  Yet considering the potential side-effects I just couldn't quite make that decision right away.  As a matter of fact through further study I found that 30% of men having the prostate removed will eventually have to face the return of cancer.  

The Urologist did tell me that I could wait and watch it, but because I was relatively young I would really have to take action at some point or the cancer would grow beyond the prostate gland and you know what happens next...

Health Sharing...
Just prior to signing up with Samaritan Ministries, a Christian Health Sharing Network.  I had received my lab results.  I didn't understand the results, but I noticed that the PSA was considered out of line.   Cancer had not been diagnosed yet, and a biopsy had not been performed, but I had a bad feeling.  As I suspected while talking to a representative at Samaritan it sounded as if I would likely be classified as a preexisting case.  Since then I've kept them updated on my status and the word pre-existing seems to have solidified, so this is the reason I'm here at gofundme. 

If you know the Bible story of the Good Samaritan then you'll understand the feelings I'm about to share.  It was as if I had fallen among thieves and was severely beaten, wounded and left for dead.  I was in urgent need of care, but the Samaritan had passed by 3 months too soon.  Of course the Priest and the Levite did pass by, but they were on their way to other important religious engagements and couldn't take a chance on getting mixed up in such a messy affair.  (Jewish purification issues were in focus and took precedent over human compassion)

Since that time I have come to terms with reality...  And that fact is, ONLY God could pull me through this one!  And like it or not, I was starting out on a journey to learn something valuable about faith. 

Samaritan Ministries is NOT Insurance...
It is an organization of Christians that willingly share of their personal resources to help other members pay medical expenses.  Samaritan Ministries has guidelines that protect  members from potential abuse and while this has tested me greatly I must stand behind them in this.   A representative has expressed willingness to submit my situation as a "Special Prayer Need" and there will certainly be some Good Samaritans who will go the extra mile and make sacrifices beyond their monthly support to other members.

HIFU and a Rebel Urologist...
Through an article in the health sharing newsletter I heard about a doctor in Sarasota FL, that was using a new technology which offered promising results with few if any of the usual side-effects.   We contacted his office and the doctor was sure to tell us that he was "The Best in the World" at what he did.  I detected more than a little ego there, but wanted to believe that he really was very good and could help cure me.  We went to Sarasota and had some diagnostic work done and then returned home again.  The doctor had told me that the 15.4 which had dropped to a 12 still meant there was something "sinister" going on in my prostate and while he never exactly proved that to me the "FEAR FACTOR" was still motivating me to get the treatment and he was pushing for the very next month.

RED FLAGS...
My wife called his office to get a price on the procedure and was told that it would be $25,000.   We had no certain way of paying for this, but faith had started to kick in by this point and we were moving forward.  Judy (my wife) called a second time to confirm the amount of $25,000 and she noted this on her legal pad.   As things continued to progress I was encouraged to get a procedure done at my local hospital.  The "Laser Vaporization" cost $5,170, so between the HIFU doctor's diagnostic work, an $800 hormone shot and nearly $300 in cancer suppressing pills we had now spent over $10,000 out of pocket and our bank account was getting pretty well depleted.

Accepting things as they were we chose to move forward.  We started receiving directives from Sarasota to prep me for the upcoming procedure.  One directive was that we needed to send the doctor $20,000 cash up front at the time of scheduling and another $26,500 just before the procedure.  This definitely raised some red flags!   Suddenly the price was $21,500 more than what had been quoted.  When talking with the doctor about this detail he told us that the person who gave us that figure was not authorized to do so.  He had smoothed it all over pretty well... or so he thought!

PRAYER...
One night as I prayed before supper I felt impressed to check out my doctor's references.  There was a part of me that knew something was amiss and that this doctor was making a lot of money by treating frightened men.  But the other part of my brain would come back and say, "SO WHAT!  IF THIS GUY CAN CURE ME WHO CARES IF HE GETS RICH."  Well, wisdom won the day and I went to the internet and typed, "Complaints Doctor ----------- Sarasota Florida and immediately 3 very revealing newspaper articles were glaring at me from the screen.

REBEL UROLOGIST IN TROUBLE WITH THE STATE... 
The news was not really all that surprising to me.  The Dept. of Health had been investigating the doctor for 2 years.  He was, according to one doctor performing treatments on patients that didn't have cancer confirmed through a biopsy.  This doctor assured his patients that he was very adept at reading MRI images and this is how he diagnosed cancer.  The State of Florida Board of Medicine challenged those claims.

One of the complaints was "THE FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF PATIENTS" and this really hit home with me.  A statement from a Board of Medicine member went something like, "One of the most dangerous doctors."  Another was, "Menace to Society." 

There could be more said, but I'll move on.  Obviously, I couldn't continue with the course we were on and so we stopped all contact with his office and now receive daily phone calls, sometimes twice daily.

One message we received pretty regularly for a while gave directions on how to wire the initial $20,000 to the doctor.

Proton Therapy...
Through all of this we have done our homework on all available options for treatment and have chosen Proton Therapy.  Proton Therapy is a type of radiation treatment that focuses the bulk of its energy directly to the tumor site.  It uses  2/3 less radiation than the more well known photon treatment.  Proton therapy's radiation energy also stops at the target rather than beaming it's way through the rest of the body and doing damage to healthy tissue.  Proton therapy has a better survival rate and the side-effects are statistically much lower than the more well known photon radiation and for that matter all other generally accepted treatments for prostate cancer.  This is very important if a man is likely to live 20 or more years after treatment because the side-effects of most generally accepted treatments frequently  decrease the quality of a man's life in a number of significant ways.  Cancer reoccurance also appears to be less of an issue than with a Radical Prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate gland)

It Only Takes Time and Money...
The treatment is given in small doses over the course of about 2 months. The initial cost estimates we were give from Loma Linda University are as follows:  $60,000 CASH or $73,000 if we make payments.  Financing would require $14,600 down and an impossible $2,400 per month payment schedule.   These figures do not cover a 2 month stay in Southern California or airfare and car rentals, etc.  And then there is the $10,000 out of pocket already spent and the dozens of other unknown expenses along the way.  We hope to be able to negotiate a better deal, but for now this is where we stand. (SEE UPDATES: WE RAN INTO SOME ROAD BLOCKS AT THE TREATMENT FACILITY IN CA AND FOUND PROCURE IN OKLAHOMA CITY TO BE VERY EASY TO WORK WITH, EXTREMELY HOSPITABLE AND QUALIFIED!)

Why Does it Cost So Much and Why Not Consider Another Treatment Option...
A Proton Treatment facility costs $100 million to build.  At Loma Linda they've been treating cancer this way for close to 30 years with a proven track record.   Other treatments can leave a man weak, impotent, incontinent (diapers) and in the case of traditional radiation a sore and damaged rectum perhaps for the rest of one's life.  Considering the typical proven side-effects of virtually all the mainstream or generally accepted modalities I just can hardly call that a CURE!  And by the way... Some doctors and insurance companies refer to Proton as experimental or investigational.  Those statements are simply not true.  It is expensive and realistically insurance companies simply would rather pay for cheaper treatments even if the patient has to suffer adverse side-effects.

Why Not Get Treated Locally...
While Proton Therapy treatment facilities are being established in other places around the country.  Local is just not an option.  The closest facility is a 3 and a half hour trip (ONE WAY!)  Seven hours of driving each day for 2 months in the winter is something I simply wouldn't have the stamina for even in the best of times.  Secondly, one facility we looked at had only treated one or two patients so far.  I don't want to be anyones guinea pig.  I have a lot more confidence in a medical facility that is known for their pioneering work in the field and has a proven track record.

A Supportive Family....
My son Clay is 21, and we work together daily servicing lawn mowers.   We're just regular guys out there earning a living by the sweat of our brows.   It can be tough somedays and we often discuss how we just couldn't do this as a one man operation.  As a father, I've been preparing Clay to the best of my ability for a day when I'll not be around, but the truth is... HE'S NOT READY TO DO THIS ALONE, NOT YET!

If you would like to help me get treatment through any level of giving we would all be most grateful.  Please remember us in your prayers.

GOD BLESS YOU.
Jeff, Judy and Clay Pearson


The Pearson Family
1057 Mower Road
Chambersburg, PA  17202

PLEASE DO US THE ADDITIONAL FAVOR OF SHARING OUR STORY THROUGH ALL AVAILABLE MEANS.

UPDATE...
During the short span of this campaign I've received a number of kind responses and encouragements.  Others have suggested that I should simply find a new insurance company and lie about the pre-existing condition in order to get compensation.  For them this would simply solve my problem and I could move on with living.  Two other well-meaning individuals recomended decisive action... GET A LAWYER and fight the Christian Health Sharing Network in order to reverse the pre-existing category that they have placed me in.  Well, my perspective on this is quite different.  To lie or take others to court would not actually bring more peace into my life during a time like this.  What I really need to do is to develop a deeper level of patience and to learn how to wait on God through all of life's trials and this is a pretty big test for me.  I really don't want to fail this one.  It may seem naive in our sophisticated world, but to choose a course as has been suggested would only hinder my prayer life and limit the blessings that God holds in store.  The Lord has always provided in the past and we're looking forward to see how He does it this time!

NOW THAT YOU'RE FINISHED READING THIS ACCOUNT PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO CONSIDER OPENING YOUR HAND AS WELL AS YOUR HEART...    YOUR SUPPORT WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!

Update...  I'd like to talk about insurance, but at the same time I'll try my best not to get too political.  Politics have an insideous underlying tendency to divide people, and in America we are living in a relatively new political reality... The gov't has been moving steadily towards a platform of socialism and health care reform is now right at center stage. Those who have a pre-existing medical condition cannot be denied insurance, but insurance is now subsidized by the gov't.  This isn't new in our world, but it has brought change to the very way our society thinks and feels towards one another.

Quite a few folks continue to suggest that I tap into this resource, and while it is now within my legal right to do so it wouldn't require much faith.  As a matter of fact, had I not maintained this course I would not have seen the price of treatment drop amazingly by almost half last Friday.  (from $60,000 to $32,000) The next morning I would not have felt the weight come off my shoulders in the same way, because trusting in the gov't is never as inspirational as seeing God move on one's behalf.  At this point I would hate to disappoint my son and all those watching my situation by compromising long held Biblical principles in exchange for a mere sense of temporary relief.  If friends and neighbors would like to contribute to my need from a heart of mercy and compassion, I will not take away their blessing.  Socialism on the other hand can never promote a sense of well-being or satisfaction and it has the very real potential of diminishing our love for neighbor.  The results are predictable when something is forced upon the people, and the choice of one's own free-will is over-ruled.  

The gov't is ordained by God, but it was never intended to replace the spirit of community or our fundemental trust in God Almighty. 

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.  Psalm 118:8