With sadness, my dear friend Ryan lost his life to Cancer.

Hello all, I'm heartbroken to share this update, but I'm also reminded of the power of love and friendship. Our dear friend Ryan has lost his fight with cancer, but his remarkable spirit, his boundless love for life, and his unwavering commitment to his husband Justin and their two dogs will never fade. Ryan was a shining example of the human spirit at its finest. Ryan and Justin were so grateful for the generous contributions, which helped Ryan and Justin in their time of need; his fight may be over, but his legacy of love and hope will endure.

Ryan always had direct access to the funds and now Justin is the owner.

Original post:

My name is Lisa Towles. As many of you know Ryan was my former work colleague and “bestie” diagnosed with a rare liver cancer in the summer of 2021. For those of you that have donated or been following Ryan’s story, I would like to provide an update. Ryan has been fighting and surviving this past year against incredible odds. This strong kind man is a survivor and fighter with a heart of gold.

Ryan is married to Justin Abitua, and they are parents to 2 adorable Australian Shepherds in Portland, Oregon. To better understand Ryan, with each conversation Ryan is more concerned with how his treatment and illness will affect everyone else, his husband, dogs, family and friends. The thought of Ryan suffering makes me so sad. Ryan is always thinking of others, putting others first and making people smile. He is so proud of Justin and the life they have built. He adores his dogs and treats them like children. He worries about them and his sensitive heart is so full.

Much has transpired since my original post. Below is the recent update from Ryan. This next phase explains many of the challenges he is facing and his bravery.   

Insurance is denying his transplant and basically chance at life. The cost is $300k

Transplant update : From Ryan

So about two years ago I was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma which is a type of bile duct cancer. It’s so rare most people do not catch it until it has spread throughout the body and typical life expectancy is about 8 months. I have beaten all the odds of this cancer, I have had the tumor shrink over the past almost 2 years and the cancer has not spread anywhere else in my body. Because of where the tumor is located I am not a candidate for a resection because my major artery and vein are surrounded by the tumor. To be considered for a transplant you have to have tried multiple months of chemo and show progression which I have and my surgical oncologist said I was a great candidate for a transplant at this point with all the positive progression I have shown and that the cancer has not spread. My referral for the liver transplant was sent to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, where they are one of the number one liver and kidney transplants hospitals in the country. I did the full transplant work up including biopsy of other areas of my body to make sure the cancer has not spread. I pass all the pre- transplant labs and tests and my liver transplant request was sent to my insurance company to get everything going to get this transplant moving forward. To my shock and surprise and 2 weeks later we got a denial for transplant from my insurance company. The reason this happened is because I have a rare cancer and the standard of care is systemic chemo and that’s it, meaning a transplant is considered “exploratory/ investigational. So my team of doctors appealed the denial and had what’s called a peer to peer review with my insurance company to basically plead my case. My doctor put a lot of work into the appeal and just last week we heard the appeal was denied again stating that this is not a “typical protocol” for my type of cancer. So my insurance company basically didn’t listen to one of the top liver transplant surgeon in the country who shared research and why she thinks this is the best and only option I have left and that they can do this transplant successfully.

So now I am left with trying to raise this money myself because I deserve a chance to live, I have fought so hard and for so long and now to get to a place where I could be cured and my insurance company does not think my life is worth the money. I could die because of not having the money to pay to save my life. I am now going to do everything I can to try and raise this money and get this transplant. I am reaching out to all of you to see if you can donate and share with everyone you know. We need your help more than ever. My body cannot continue to be on chemo for a long period of time and we need to get this transplant done as soon as we can. So much love to you all and I hope you can find it in your heart to help save my life

So please donate if you can and share as much as possible. I am fighting for my life and will continue to do so as long as I possibly can but financially we are going to need your help. I thank all of you in advance and I truly would not be able to get through this without all of you. ~ Ryan

This go fund me page is an ask to help my dear wonderful friend Ryan to fight for his life. The goal is to help take some of the burden and worry away for a person that carries a lot on his shoulders as a consequence of his empathetic compassionate human!! Lisa