"Fight Like Mike"

Mike Mace, or as some of us call him “Uncle Mikey”, age 54 was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer. Mike is one of the kindest, most loving human beings one may know. He is a father, grandfather, uncle and a true friend. He works hard for his family and is their sole- provider. As long as I have known Mike, he has never missed more than a days’ worth of work due to his ambition and drive to provide for his family. However, life has thrown The Mace Family a curve ball, and so we need your help.

On December 29th Mike’s life forever changed. What was supposed to be a routine follow-up with his provider due to his concerns about his recent weight loss turned into an immediate admittance to the hospital. His provider ordered some blood work which included a Hemoglobin level. Mike left the doctor’s office and soon received a call from his provider that his Hemoglobin level was at a 5. (Normal range for an Adult Male is 14-18 gm/dL) Mind you that Mike had worked the whole day prior to going to the doctor’s appointment on this Hemoglobin level which shows you how strong of a man he is. The doctor sent Mike to the Abbott Hospital where they completed 3 blood transfusions and an Iron transfusion. The providers then ordered a CT scan, which revealed a mass in his colon. After one night in the hospital the Oncologist came in to tell Mike that his liver, stomach and lymph nodes also showed masses and that the cancer was metastasized. Through all of this, Mike continued to stay positive and explained to the doctor’s that he felt good and wanted to go home. The doctors were so impressed that Mike worked with a Hemoglobin of 5 and continued to do so well in the hospital that they let him go home New Year’s Day.

After a week of being home, Mike was scheduled for a Liver Biopsy which would let the doctor’s know what type of cancer they were dealing with, and what type of chemo would be best to use. Mike recently met with the Oncologist who confirmed the Stage 4 Colon Cancer and stated that this Cancer is not curable but is treatable. Mike will have a port placed next Monday and will start a Chemo called FOLFOX, which is a chemo that uses three types of chemotherapy drugs during treatment. (FOLinic Acid, Flurouracil, Oxaliplatin) This Chemo stops cancer cells from replicating or multiplying. The chemo treatment will start Jan 24th.

We would like to ask all of you for your support with prayers, positive thoughts, and any financial support you can provide for Mike as we help him fight through this. He is a very strong man and continues to ask, “When can I work?” We would like to take some of the financial burden off of him so he can concentrate on healing and getting stronger. We are starting this Go-Fund-Me page in hopes that he can feel less of the stress during this storm. We ask that Mike and his wife Patty do not know about the Go-Fund-Me as we would like to surprise them with a check.

We can’t thank you all enough for the love and support! Together we will get Mike through this and show him the love that he deserves. Let’s “FIGHT LIKE MIKE because HIS FIGHT IS OUR FIGHT”

We also ask that you continue to pray for him as we all know that the best treatment is from the man upstairs!!

“I will give you back your health and heal your wounds, says the Lord” James 5:16

“O Lord, you alone can heal me; you alone can save. My praises are for you Alone!” Jeremiah 17:14