Alex Niblett Cancer Fund

Hi, my name is Chris Lucas, and I am setting up this fundraiser for my close friend Alex Niblett. In 2019 Alex was diagnosed with cancer and was declared cancer free after undergoing aggressive surgery and treatment. In February of this year, Alex’s cancer returned. He has been given 2-5 years to live.

I met Alex about 15 years ago at a previous job. He kept to himself when I first met him, and it was pretty much business only. He worked on a project that ended his business-only approach when he had to start communicating with me, but he still kept it strictly professional.

At one point he had a health issue where he was unable to work for a short time. Our group was very family-oriented, and we got together to help provide some meals for his family while he recovered. I lived relatively close to his home and volunteered to drop off a meal and it was at this time that I met his wife Sheila and his sons Sean and Connor.

Once he returned to work it was my mission to get him to open up. I happened to discover his weak spot, he was into automobiles, just like I was. Slowly he started turning around and he was pulled into a group of us that ended up regularly taking lunches together. This turned into a group of friends that kept meeting even after we all changed jobs. We shared family stories, kids growing up, and life moving on.

Around the summer of 2019, we were trying to get everyone together for lunch and Alex had what he thought was just a bad cold, which would not go away, that eventually turned into what he thought was laryngitis. I still remember the day when I found out what was going on. I was driving home, and he was driving to eat with his family and he saw me pass in the opposite lane (the car guy and I have a recognizable vehicle and invited me to come meet them).

My work had me on call that week and I was unable to come by and that is when he told me that he was going in for surgery for cancer. I later found out that they were giving him only a short time to live unless he went through with it. After 11 hours of invasive surgery, they removed his voice box and reconstructed his esophagus, veins, and arteries.

Two months later, in December 2019, he was able to spend Christmas with his family.

In January 2020 he was slated to get a regiment of radioactive iodine treatment as there were some spots that they could not fully get in his surgery. After a month of this treatment in April 2020, they announced him cancer free.

The after-effect of this took a heavy toll on his body. Due to the effects of the radiation treatment, he had to have all of his teeth removed. His reconstructed esophagus was not taking the stretching to allow him to get the prosthetic that would allow him to speak. This meant it would not be large enough for him to rid himself of the feeding tube. For months he was underweight but was able to fill up with several shakes. We still met for lunch but not as often as before.

In February of this year, Alex learned the cancer was back. Doctors are giving him only 2-5 years to live. His only option at this time is immunotherapy which will add more medical bills.

I am setting up this fundraiser as Alex is currently the sole provider for his family and I don't know what the impact will be for his family based on the potential side effects. The bills from the initial surgeries along with the current ones are still coming and the funds raised would be to help pay these medical bills.

This family has been a big part of my life for the past 15 years and his recovery and their wellbeing is weighing heavily on me. I am not sure how or what to do but my hope is the funds raised with this will give them some hope and relief.