Bradd Romant Kicks Cancer

Ann DeSalvatore Sumner organise cette cagnotte au nom de Sara Romant.

Don protégé

The short story:

This gofundme is for Bradd and his family. Bradd is a fun-loving family man who has three beautiful daughters. The youngest is a middle school student and the older two are making him proud at college. He loves cheering them on and supports them in everything they do. Bradd is a hard-working gaffer, an electrician in TV and film production. In his off hours, he is an avid cyclist, and a huge supporter of the Brewers and Packers. He and his wife, Sara, love spending time with family and they close most weeks with Beer Fridays, a weekly happy hour in their garage.

Bradd was diagnosed with cancer in his throat that requires radical surgery and significant reconstruction. Beating it will require multiple surgeries, a lengthy hospital stay, months of rehabilitation, and more money that we can fathom. Financial help could help pay medical bills, offset lost wages, and pay for incidental costs. Any amount would make a difference. If you can't contribute funds, a helping hand, kind word, or prayer is always appreciated.

The long story:

Here's what happened. I got this text:

Again.

It's cancer again.

Bradd beat cancer the first time in 2001. He whooped Hodgkin's Lymphoma with friends and family by his side. Round two came last fall. Bradd had known something was wrong for months, but it took time and tenacity to finally get a diagnosis of tonsillar cancer.

The photo below is him on the last day of radiation. His wife, Sara, and their three daughters Olivia, Emma, and Ava are just out of frame. Bradd's wearing his favorite cycling kit because suffering through intense climbs on his bike honed the mental toughness he needed to get through therapy and beat his second cancer.

And he did. He beat cancer a second time. In March, his PET scan was clean. Cancer free. In May, his PET scan was clean. Cancer free. But it came at a cost. Radiation had left its mark. Bradd could barely open his mouth. Bradd, who is a bit of a health nut, resorted to eating a lot of frozen custard to try to keep his weight up . Worse, his carotid artery was only covered by a thin layer of tissue.

You probably already know, but the carotid is a big deal. It's a main pathway for oxygenated blood to travel from the heart to the brain. If it gets cut, you can bleed to death pretty quickly. So, yeah, it's something his doctors wanted to address. They were planning a tissue graft. I think of it as tucking his carotid under a little blankie for cushioning.

It was during the work-up for the carotid graft that the team decided to do a biopsy of some tissue that was a little firm. Both radiation and cancer can stiffen tissue, so they wanted to be sure what they were observing was a side effect of radiation and not cancerous growth.

But it wasn't from the radiation. "It's cancer again."

Doctors diagnosed Bradd with a recurrent persistent cancer. This is a recurrence of the cancer he had last fall. The good news is that there is no sign of cancer spreading to the rest of his body. The bad news is that there are cancer cells at the base of the tongue, and doctors suspect involvement of the lymph node, jaw bone, and muscles of the throat. Fighting it is going to be the ultimate uphill climb.

Here's the plan:

Okay, most of what follows is a direct quote from Sara. You can skip it if you've already spoken to her. But if you haven't, or are (like me) still wrapping your head around it all, read on.

"Bradd is now facing a radical surgery to treat the cancer that is affecting his soft palate, pharynx (side of throat), jaw bone..., and back of tongue in addition to all the lymph nodes in his neck on the affected side...they will do reconstructive surgery which will involve taking skin and blood vessels from his forearm or quadricep. " He will require a tracheotomy, an incision in the windpipe, to maintain his airway. He likely won’t be eating--even custard--for some time and will need a feeding tube to deliver nutrition directly to his gut.

About 10 hours of surgery will be followed by days in the ICU and a stay in a standard patient room, after which they hope he will transition home with nursing care. He will be recovering for many weeks and months. That recovery will likely include multiple therapies to support speech, swallowing, and overall return to functioning.

What we're hoping it won't include is financial ruin. This is where we need your help.

What they need:

I can't even fathom what the cost of the actual medical care here is going to be. Conservatively, I'd say gazillions. And remember, this is in addition to the medical bills for last fall's radiation. Add to that the reduction in income while Bradd is out of work recovering. Add the little stuff too. Parking at the hospital, a shirt that doesn't rub a scar, a take out meal because the exhaustion makes cooking a Herculean task.

If you can give a little, it would help defray their many costs. If you can't, maybe you are local and can make a meal, give a ride, shovel snow, or just send Sara and Bradd your prayers. Please help to flatten this uphill climb in any way you can, so we can get Bradd back to spending time with his family and friends, and to riding in style.