Help Chris Beat Cancer!

Friends, family and loved ones,

As many of you know, after discovering a rapidly-growing mass and experiencing sharp pains in his shoulder blade, Chris Zurovec was diagnosed with cancer on May 11th, 2023. In June, a PET scan revealed that not only is there a cancerous mass in his shoulder but there are four additional masses in his spine and pelvis.

Unfortunately, on top of being dealt this heavy diagnosis, Chris's road to treatment has been a long and frustrating one, riddled with miscommunication and misdiagnoses. Although his pathologists and oncologists currently favor Chris's masses as being melanoma, they've still been unable to completely rule out another type of cancer, for which treatment would look very different. Chris’s doctors have urged him to seek a third opinion from MD Anderson, the top cancer facility in the nation, however, they don't accept his insurance and he's now being forced to self-pay for any additional testing (for which the clinic estimates could cost $3K per test).

Over the past decade, Chris has made a living selling his creations at events throughout Texas and, after the tumor broke through his shoulder blade in March, he's been unable to work. I've set the goal for this GoFundMe at $15K to help cover some of the costs he’s already incurred with co-pays, to provide him a bit of relief during this period he's unable to work and to ensure he never has to make a choice to delay or decline testing because of the financial burden it would impose.

I've had a front-row seat to the poise, patience and incredible strength Chris has shown throughout this experience. I'll never forget- on the morning of his appointment to receive the results of his PET scan (where we suspected we would learn the cancer had spread to other parts of his body), we were heading for the door and Chris stopped and ran back into our apartment. When he came back out, stuffing something into his backpack, I asked what he had gotten. He said, "Tissues, in case you or my parents need to cry."

Even in his darkest moments, he's always thinking of others first. He’s shown immense grace in situations where one might expect the opposite and continues to amaze us all every day. Although he's been stubbornly resistant to asking for donations, we’d like to show him that he has enough of us in his corner and that we can rally around him and help make the weight of this challenging experience a little lighter. If you can make a donation to help Chris on his journey to overcome cancer, it would be greatly appreciated. If you are unable to contribute monetarily, please consider helping us by sharing his story and the link to this campaign.

Chris is deeply grateful for the love and support already shown to him during this difficult time.

Thank you!

~Racheal