Help Steve Kimura in Medical Care for Cancer

A member of my church family, Steve Kimura, fell ill in July 2023 with seemingly minor abdominal symptoms. A variety of tests were conducted, including CT scans that showed a large tumor on the pancreas and several on the liver. That led to a biopsy in August, on his daughter’s first day of 8th grade which confirmed the worst: it was pancreatic cancer, stage four, and not curable.

He immediately began chemotherapy and he and his wife, Laura, and daughter, Paloma, had great hope for success. The oncologist urged him to have a positive outlook as patients who do so have better outcomes. The doctor also said there would be plenty of time for other treatments including clinical trials should they be needed down the road.

Sadly, things haven’t worked out that way. The first chemo regimen worked for about two months, long enough for Steve to have a memorable day in October with his family at Knotts Berry Farm, a place that holds so many special father-daughter memories. But not long after, tumors began growing and spreading, including to his spine. Further chemo and radiation did not help so his oncologist decided to enroll him in a clinical trial. Unfortunately, the day before trial treatment was to begin, he got a call that he was ineligible due to a new FDA rule.

His oncologist then started him on a new chemo regimen that would fulfill the FDA requirement. The hope was for the chemo to work but if it didn’t, he could then enroll in the trial. It’s not yet known if the chemo is having any effect but Steve has continued to weaken and lose weight and the trial is no longer an option.

The impact of this awful disease has hit him and his family hard on so many levels - physical, emotional and financial. His condition now requires costly in-home care and when the time comes, transfer into an end of life facility. He does not have a long-term care policy as he was denied coverage years ago due to a medical condition. He has received his last short-term disability check from the state, and despite 30 years of work history going back to his teenage years, he does not qualify for federal disability having been a stay-at-home dad since his daughter was born (he had only returned to a paying job outside the home nine months before his diagnosis). Since he’s younger than 62, he’s not yet qualified for Social Security and Medicare.

Without disability, he and his daughter will lose access to the low-cost health insurance he’s had through his last employer (Cobra will be 20+ times more costly). When he passes, his daughter will not qualify for Social Security Survivor’s Benefits due to his limited work history since her birth.

Please help us raise much-needed funds to go toward insurance, medical bills, in-home caregivers, and when the time comes, end of life care in a facility. Any amount helps and all funds raised will go toward his medical expenses and care. Anything remaining when he passes will help his daughter as she faces a future and so many of life’s important milestones without her loving dad.