Brayden Bafaro Cancer & Transplant Fund

On July 13, 2021–23 year old Brayden took himself to an ER in Oklahoma for debilitating back pain.  A week later he was diagnosed with Stage IIIC germ cell cancer that had spread to his lungs, lymph nodes and spine.

 

Since then, Brayden has battled through what we prayed  would be his only course of grueling chemotherapy. At the conclusion of 28 chemo treatments, his tumors  markers successfully decreased to levels indicating the absence of cancer cells. Unfortunately, four short weeks later things took a turn.

 

Brayden's tumor markers began rapidly rising and the decision has been made for him to start another treatment which includes rounds of high dose chemotherapy and a minimum of 2 stem cell transplants. This extremely strong chemo regimen and stem cell transplants will require him to be in the hospital up to 4 months. 

 

We have set up this GoFundMe as a place for our generous friends, family, and caring individuals to help lessen the financial burden of Brayden’s battle. Donations will be used to help cover the medical bills and anything needed to navigate this journey. Brayden continues to amaze and inspire us as he fights this disease. We appreciate and cherish every single person rallying around him to kick cancers ass!

 

A Little About Brayden's Cancer Journey

Brayden is from Hillsboro, Oregon and up until his diagnosis, had been finishing college in Oklahoma with hopes of becoming a teacher. He is the middle child of two brothers and loves spending his summers with them at his grandparent's cabin in Montana riding dirt bikes, fishing, and making huckleberry milkshakes.

Last summer’s trip to Montana was tainted with Brayden experiencing excruciating back pain, that he believed to be a lingering injury from playing college baseball. It was clear something wasn’t right, but none of us could have imagined that just a few weeks later we would learn that it was cancer causing his back pain.

After he returned to Oklahoma from our summer trip, Brayden went to the ER and was given an MRI.  An amazing nurse went out of her way to call his parents and tell them they should come to Oklahoma immediately. The news of the cancer was an absolute shock.

Brayden began his first round of chemo within a week. His attitude was inspiring despite having only a few days to process his diagnosis.  At the time, the only thing that dampened his spirit was the lack of good food in the hospital. Once Brayden finished his first round of chemo, he came back to Oregon to finish out the rest of his treatment with his family by his side.

By the second round, the reality of the situation really began to set in. While Brayden's back pain had vanished, the side effects of chemo caused him to be very uncomfortable. Still, Brayden's attitude remained positive—except whenever he had to be forced out of bed early in the morning to go to  doctor appointments and treatments.

With each round of treatment his tumor markers plummeted, indicating that the chemo was doing its job. Upon completing his final round and confirmation that his tumor markers were in the normal range, we began to feel hopeful that this could be the end of his cancer journey. Brayden's cancer very quickly reappeared, so his battle continues.  We remain as motivated as ever to rally around Brayden to help  him fight this disease.

As Brayden gears up to resume  chemotherapy and stem cell transplants there is a lot we don’t know about how these next treatments will affect him. The looming 4 month hospital stay certainly weighs heavily on our hearts. But we know for certain that we will continue to be inspired by Brayden's amazing spirit and will do everything in our power to give him the strength to beat this thing.