Help Lee Thelen Fight Pancreatic Cancer

Lee has stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to his liver and has been accepted into a Mesothelin T-Cell Replacement clinical trial at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Your contribution to this fund will help support Lee, his wife, Deborah, and their fur babies Yeti, Jamie and Lummi during this long, hard fight.

Lee’s Go Fund Me Campaign

The nature of Lee’s condition of stage 4 pancreatic cancer means that during the next three to four months of the Mesothelin TCR trial, Lee will have to leave his home in East Renton to stay in Seattle, close to the Fred Hutch Research Center, as he has to be under 24-hour care, cannot drive and must be close to the University of Washington Hospital (where a special care team of doctors are located) should there be a need for emergency treatment. Unfortunately, his insurance does not cover the living accommodations, 24-hour care, or Deborah’s travel back and forth. To sustainably maintain their basic lives during this time, given rising expenses and lost income, any amount will go a long way toward helping and mean so very much.

Lee’s Medical Condition

In 2018, Lee started presenting symptoms of pancreatic cancer. A biopsy was taken from a small tumor in his pancreas, and the results returned positive for pancreatic cancer, one day before his 57th birthday. It was that day that our lives changed forever. Lee underwent a Whipple procedure, an eight-hour procedure to remove the tumor and reconnect the various organs involved, which was followed by ten days of hospital care.

Our hopes were high that the Whipple procedure removed all of the cancer. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and the cancer returned in the summer of 2020, now having metastasized to his liver. Stage 4.

Currently there is no known cure for pancreatic cancer, and it carries with it one of the highest mortality rates of all cancers. Fortunately, we have been under the care of Fred Hutchinson (formerly SCCA), and Lee was considered for the TCR trial. He is one of 15 patients to have been accepted into this program. Our hope is that it will be a groundbreaking step toward curing pancreatic cancer. Both Lee and Deborah feel blessed to not only be able to help themselves, but others involved in this fight and the future of cancer treatment as whole.

Your Support

Thankfully, Lee is already in treatment. It has been a full-time job for him for more than two years now, as various treatments have been tried. Lee starts his first T-Cell infusion November 2nd and is planning on moving into his temporary housing October 28th. Given the loss of income and increased expenses on top of medical expenses, Lee and Deborah have run into financial strain; your gift to them is key to helping them cover the following expenses during the coming year.

Your support will help with the following:

Lee and Deborah

If you are here, you probably know Lee and Deborah! Sixteen years ago, they both met at an art festival, having been introduced to each other by a mutual friend. They fell in love, sharing the same passion for art, music, the outdoors, nature and animals. They are passionate about creative endeavors and humanity. Their hopes are to contribute to the cure of cancer, specifically pancreatic cancer.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts

Lee and Deborah, their family and friends, and the organizers of this campaign are rooting for Lee! He is brave and giving. We are grateful to be able to show up for them and lend a hand where we can, which is to make sure that when they get to the other side of this trial without being under a mountain of debt.

We are so grateful for contributions of any size, sharing of the campaign, or other support you can offer. If you want to learn more about their situation, please reach out, and we will be happy to connect with you.

Please send your good thoughts and share this GoFundMe campaign far AND wide!

Thank you all!