Help Zach Beat Cancer: Crossfit&Coffee v. Cancer

Update 6/20/2024

This update is a little harder to write.

Zach completed chemo on May 28th. That day, his father passed away. Since then, there's been a bustle of family coming together the way families do to mourn and celebrate and support one another through times like this.

On June 14th, we got the results back from his post-chemo scans. Results are mixed. Some of the lung spots have either disappeared or shrank considerably. That's the good news. Unfortunately, there are at least two lesions in each lung that either did not shrink or grew in size. The largest is close to 3 cm. The lesion in his liver was also unaffected by chemotherapy. The spot on his pubic bone is questionable, because bone can light up on a scan when healing in the same way it might when cancerous.

We don't yet fully understand what these results mean, apart from the fact that surgery of some kind will be required. The large lesion in the lung is currently the most concerning. Zach's oncologist has suggested we go get a second opinion from an oncologist at Indiana University, where they specialize testicular cancer research and treatment. The appointment is currently set for June 27, so we'll be making a day trip to Indianapolis.

Zach will be unable to return to work indefinitely due to the anticipated surgeries.

Up to this point, your financial support has provided meals, comfort, acid reflux solutions, gas money, and relief from day-to-day bills. We're incredibly grateful. As the next steps in our path are illuminated for us, I will keep everyone posted here.

As always, thank you for your support and your prayers.

Update 5/14/2024

Yesterday we started the last 3 week cycle of chemo (fingers crossed). Zach has stayed pretty freaking upbeat throughout the entire process, all things considered. We've had a few scares of low white blood cell days, so he's been pretty good about keeping himself fairly isolated to stay safe. Once this round of chemo wraps up on May 28th, we enter a little waiting period. The chemo is given a couple of weeks to finish doing it's thing, and then there will be various PET scans of his entire body to check the 20+ spots he had in his lungs, the spot on the bone, and the spot on the liver. One of the types of cancer in the original tumor is non-responsive to chemotherapy, and we won't know if that type is present in the other areas until PET scan results. If there are areas that haven't shown enough improvement, surgery will be the next step to keep on fighting through this. We should know more on June 14th.

7 weeks ago, Zach had to make the decision to stop going in to work. The chemo fatigue is the biggest barrier he's had, and working became unrealistic as the side effects began compounding. The financial burden still looms, and has been compounded by general life circumstances outside of Zach's own cancer battle. His pops is currently at BJC for reasons unknown, but we have confidence in the care he will receive there.

Update 3/12/2024

Chemo started yesterday! The results of the last CT scan led to an MRI, which discovered that the cancer has metastasized and is present on the pelvic bone and liver, as well as the previously located spots on the lungs. This has added another 3 week cycle of chemo to the run, meaning Zach has a full 12 weeks to get through. He's treating it like he does anything else: with a sense of humor and "let's get it done". Some of the staff just don't know what to do with him, the others adore him. This is pretty on-brand for Zachary.

The amount of support we have received from our community is absolutely insane, and it's hard to articulate the amount of gratitude we have for everyone that has donated or shared, for the hugs and stories and activity books and meals and love . It's completely overwhelming. It's as though 200 people have looked at us and said "Hey, we see you. We're with you. We're going to get through this."

We don't have words outside of this:

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Meals:

If you're interested in helping out with meals, my sister set up a Meal Train account for us as well.

Zach's Story:

Zach is one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met. He’s a tidy, blonde ball of muscle and humor. And at 32, at the end of January he was diagnosed with stage 3 testicular cancer.

His life is split between his passions: coffee, CrossFit (coaching and participating), and live events. He works as an Events Production Coordinator at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and his main event is Garden Glow. He thrives in the fast paced environment and off of the energy and appreciation the city of St Louis exudes during the holidays when Glow is up and running. This year will be his 7th year working on the event. His work directly correlates with the holiday memories thousands of people in the Greater St Louis area make every year at the Garden.

In the gym, the passion shifts to encouraging people to push a little harder, go a little longer, and for goodness sakes listen to some metal music. His best days are those when he gets to help someone hit a new goal AND find a new jam all at the same time. He lives for the days where he can push himself to a new PR.

Stage 3 means the cancer has spread to his lungs and must be treated aggressively and immediately with chemotherapy. The cancer is a mix of mainly embryonal carcinoma, teratoma, and seminoma. We still don’t know if his lymph nodes have been affected. As I’m writing this, he’s getting a CT scan to find out. Fingers crossed.

Despite the advanced stage, his prognosis is good provided he gets the treatment he needs. This diagnosis has created a massive, dramatic financial burden on Zach. Already, surgeries and testing have racked up thousands of dollars, in conjunction with him being unable to work during recovery. As we proceed with chemotherapy, that financial burden will continue to grow. We’re lucky enough to have health insurance, but it is still going to require out of pocket costs on our end. The current estimate for just chemo is about $15,000. Again, this is just chemo.

I’m looking for help to support Zach while he fights this cancer. The goal of $30,000 is to allow him to put his energy and time into healing his body and not stressing endlessly about the financial reality of a cancer diagnosis. He will be able to pay his normal bills and deal with the financial crisis that is cancer. Zach is stubborn. 3 days before his orchiectomy he competed in a CrossFit competition.

He’s fiercely private and independent, and much more used to contributing to a community than receiving from one. I’m asking friends, family, and beyond to help out. Let’s get him through this so he can go back in full force to living his life, creating for St Louis, and kicking ass on those RX workouts.