Daniel's Fearless Cancer Battle

My name is Kristin White-Hokanson, and all my life, my biggest heroes have been my mother & father. Today, I add a new hero to my list—my brother, Daniel White. In April of this year, we got the devastating news that, at only 32 years of age, Daniel had been diagnosed with cancer. How & why this could happen was beyond us. This is not something that a young man, just starting his life, should have to deal with. The “how & why” of this story is unimportant — those are questions that can’t be answered, as we’ve learned that sometimes bad things happen to good people. I want to focus on my brother, Daniel, how he will overcome this fight, and how you can help!

Daniel’s fearless battle began this April, and to say it has been a whirlwind of events would be an understatement. It started with a simple visit to urgent care for abdominal & back pain, along with swelling in his groin area. From there, he was referred to a urologist. After a very long & painful 2-week wait to be seen by the urologist; he was later diagnosed with stage 3B testicular cancer... To say we were shocked would be an understatement; we knew something was wrong but never thought at his age and in his good health that it would be CANCER! Now, as you can imagine, this news was like a gut punch with all the usual emotions…How can this be? Why me? What now?…

Since Daniel’s diagnosis, he has undergone surgery to remove the large tumor in his testicle. The biopsy showed 80% Embryonal Carcinoma and 20% Yolk Sac tumor makeup. Unfortunately, the cancer was not contained to just the testicle. It spread to multiple lymph nodes as well, which was the cause of his severe abdominal/back pain. Due to the growth rate and aggressive nature of his type of cancer, he began BEP chemotherapy treatments (Bleomycin Sulfate, Etoposide Phosphate and Platinol) directly following surgery. His doctor scheduled him for 4 rounds of treatment, each treatment lasting 3 weeks. His side effects have been extreme; he has encountered loss of hair, nausea, fatigue, severe weight loss, grade 4 mucositis, extreme esophagitis, colitis, and constant pain. The side effects have been so severe

that following each treatment, Daniel has had to spend 7-10 nights in the hospital, completely unable to eat or drink, receiving multiple blood transfusions, various IV infusions of supplements and fluids, and overall around the clock hospital care to ensure his survival. He has been neutropenic (little to no immune system) throughout this process, which has made visits from friends and family next to impossible for fear of infection. He has literally spent the last 4 months of his life either in bed or in the

hospital. To say it has been 4 months of literal hell would be an understatement.

Daniel is an extremely proud person who has worked for everything that he has in life and who always gives his time and effort to helping others. He is now 4 months into this with all savings completely exhausted— and no other choice. We have decided as a family that it is time to share his story and ask for help from our community. Not only does he have to fight the hardest battle of his life: just trying to stay alive… having the added stress and fear of being unable to work has been extremely overwhelming. He

still must worry about mortgage payments, car payments, insurance payments, utilities, gas, and all of the additional expenses that come along with life, on top of fighting to survive. With just finishing his 4th round of chemo, doctor’s now want to schedule him for a Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection (RPLND). A post-chemotherapy RPLND is an extremely challenging surgery. Assuming all goes well (which, of course we are), Daniel can expect to be out of work for another 3-4 months at a minimum. The cost of the RPLND surgery alone is close to $11,000, not including the additional costs of anesthesia, hospital stays, follow-up care, etc., on top of the cost of living with

mortgage, car, insurance, utilities, gas, etc. We could be looking at anywhere from $35,000-$40,000 of upcoming expenses. This is just for the 4 months that’s to come and doesn’t even include the 4 months of medical costs, bills, & expenses that have already passed! We have tried to fight this battle alone, but we’ve realized that sometimes strength is found in asking others for help. If you are willing & able to help my brother Daniel, your donation will not go unnoticed. Any amount would help him in his fight and is very much appreciated. It has been a hard road thus far, and we know the journey is not over yet. But we find hope in knowing generous; kind people are willing to help if we just ask. If donating isn’t an option, that’s ok…we would

greatly appreciate your prayers for healing and good health. Please share this to your page and any social media, email or other channel you can to help us get our story out!

We also hope that sharing Daniel's story will encourage other young men who may be dealing with similar situations to know there is hope—you are not alone! It does not matter your age; tomorrow is never promised, so we must do the best we can today. Words cannot express how deeply grateful we are for your support. Thank you all for taking the time to listen to my brother Daniel's story, thank you for any donation you can offer, thank you for sharing Daniel's story, and thank you for continued prayers during this time of hardship for my family. We will continue to keep you updated on Daniel's progress and can’t wait to share his victory with you soon!