Support John's Fight Against Cancer

Hello! My name is John and I am a single dad of 3 wonderful school-aged kids. I have a very rewarding job managing recreation facilities and programs for college students at Rutgers University. I am very lucky to be part of a big family with the most amazing parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews. We all live pretty far away from each other now, but we work hard to get together as often as we can.

So how did I end up here?

I turned 50 this year {ughh!}, so I scheduled myself for my first colonoscopy. I was stunned when the doctor told me that he found what appeared to be cancer. Testing confirmed his suspicion, and more testing revealed that I have stage 4 cancer with spread to my liver.

My case is not hopeless, and I absolutely plan to be cancer-free one day, but it is going to be a very long battle. I started chemotherapy in the middle of August and will continue to the beginning of October. I will have my first surgery sometime in October and then back to chemotherapy in November. The second round of chemotherapy will be another 2 months followed by a few weeks of radiation. Sometime in January or February, I will have my second surgery, and a few months later, I will have my third and final surgery. WooHoo!!!

I am notoriously bad at asking for help, but it's becoming more clear each day that I will need help to get through this year. It is a challenge to keep up with the "every day" stuff because there are only a few days between biweekly treatments when I feel well enough to keep up with my job, lawn mowing, house cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking, etc. And honestly, I just want to spend quality time with my kids on the "good" days.

There are a lot of people worse off than me, and I truly feel fortunate in many ways. I think that's why I hesitate to ask others for help. But if you read my story and have the means to help, I will be very grateful.

PS: Colonoscopies are recommended for everyone over 45 years old. Schedule yours today.

-John