Doyle's fight against Stage 4 Cholangiocarcinoma
Hi everyone.
Bare with me, I have never had to write something up like this. My name is Juliah McCormick. I created this fundraiser on behalf of my Dad, Doyle McCormick along for his wife, sister, and four daughters. For those that know my Dad, they know he would be the last person that would want this made for him, but I got the "okay". I'll do my best to try to make it short and sweet, but much has happened in the last three weeks. Dad was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma (also known as Bile Duct Cancer) with metastasis to the liver, lining of his lungs, and starting to show on the bone. He went from being completely fine to showing severe signs of jaundice and extreme weight loss. I had never heard of this cancer before this, and have since learned that it is a very rare and very aggressive cancer. Time is not on our side right now. Dad has been in and out of the hospital, and has had three different procedures to try to unblock his bile duct, and is now getting set for chemotherapy this week! He has gone to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa for his last couple appointments and is continuing with them for care until we receive a better outcome- some kind of miracle- from another specialist. Being that this is such a rare cancer, there is not as many success stories that we would like to see, and he was not given a great prognosis. However, this is no where near impossible for him and we are full of hope. In order to fight the hardest for Dad, my Mom and I have set appointments across the country to some of the best bile duct cancer specialists to find someone willing to perform a transplant that he has been denied for here at home due to the metastasis, or any other alternative solution that holds better successes . We are hoping to also get him into some clinical trials that have had good outcomes. My family is working so hard to help my Dad fight this. He is working his hardest to do everything he can to stay in the best shape and keep his body strong. Dad has a wife, a sister, four daughters, and three grandchildren to stay positive for and keep fighting to live for. He is no where near close to giving up, and has kept himself in positive spirits about the whole thing and we are so proud of him. This has been a nightmare for my entire family, and I am so proud of each of us for keeping it together as well as we have. It has brought us together stronger than ever, and showed us that tomorrow really is never promised.
My Dad has been out of work ever since. My Mom goes in when she can, but with all of these procedures in the hospital, the appointments in Tampa- and the future ones in Jacksonville, New York, and California, she is going to miss even more. My parents are constantly having to drive back and forth from Tampa and staying in hotels. We do not think Dad will be covered for these upcoming appointments out of state, especially for the procedures. The very last thing I want my family to be worried about is financial hardship. I do not want money to be the reason Dad can't see the specialist's he needs to see, to be able to travel to them, and overall having the burden on both of my parent's. The very last thing both of them need is to be stressed about the financial aspect of all of this.
I know not everyone can make a donation, that is not all we are asking for. We are also asking for prayers, advice, experiences, recommendations, any sort of information that can further help us get Dad better. He is going to beat this.
Thank you all so much.
Love,
Juliah and the rest of the McCormick family.