Help for Bobby Courtney's Fight against Cancer

This fundraiser is to help support Robert "Bobby" Courtney and his wife Katie (Karahuta) through his fight with cancer. They are new parent's to their son Asher who just turned 5 months old. I have known Katie since she was born, as her Mom is one of my oldest friends. I am starting this fundraiser in hopes to help her family with medical and living expenses so they can focus on Bobby's treatment.

Bobby has dealt with the diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis, amongst other health conditions since 2008. In 2018, the Cleveland clinic located a 2cm precancerous polyp that was successfully removed in his transverse colon. His UC has been in remission since 2019, with the acceptation of occasional flare ups. In May of 2023 Bobby began vomiting. This isn’t uncommon, he has frequent panic attacks and tends to vomit while having one. The vomiting lasted on and off for 2 weeks. They began communicating with his GI doctor at the Cleveland clinic, who ordered blood tests. They realized his liver enzymes were rising quickly and asked for him to come into the main campus ER. This is where he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis with an unknown cause. He underwent an MRI where they found enlarged lymph nodes in the groin and by the kidneys, as well as small nodules on the perineum, thickening of the upper right portion of the liver, and a complete obstruction of a bile duct. At this point, Bobby became jaundice. They biopsied the retro peritoneal lymphnodes and confirmed he had stage 4 metastatic cholangiocarcinoma as well as primary sclerosing cholangitis (another autoimmune condition that people with ulcerative colitis can develop, that unfortunately can lead to liver failure/cancer). Bobby found out the news 3 days before his 34th birthday, which was also spent in the hospital. The current course of action is Chemotherapy, and we pray it works to kill or shrink the tumors in his body. He does not qualify for immunotherapy due to the ulcerative colitis. This is a very aggressive cancer with a long road of treatment ahead.

Katie has been a dedicated wife and mother splitting her time between the hospital with Bobby, taking care of their son and working when she can. You can help by donating and sharing this link. The money is needed for so much more than cancer treatment. Every dollar given means one less dollar Bobby & Katie have to worry about, and they need their energy directed entirely at Bobby’s treatment. Let’s do our part to make sure they can focus on winning this battle.