Help Max Staub defeat cancer!

Hi! I’m Kendra and I’m helping to raise funds for my dear friend and coworker, Max Staub. Some of you reading this might not know Max, so let me tell you a little bit about him. Max is a family man! He’s an awesome dad to two beautiful daughters and a wonderful husband to his fantastic wife, Carly. He’s a loyal friend and coworker, and he’s HILARIOUS! But, please don’t tell him that or he’ll start telling dad jokes. Max has been diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer and, frankly, he’s got a long road ahead of him. He has started a rigorous treatment schedule that requires chemotherapy and radiation at the least. He is currently unable to work, and doesn’t know when working again will be a possibility. Max is always so willing to help others, this time it’s our turn to help him. You’ve got this, Max! And we’ve all got your back!

Here’s what Max has to say about his cancer journey……

My Story

Well, my story is simple, I think. I had my first colonoscopy visit and up until that time I never had any symptoms that something might be wrong. After all, I was healthy. Why would I have anything to worry about? However, after coming out of anesthesia, my doctor informed me of some bad news. It looked like I had cancer. I literally woke up to a bad dream, but the dream was now reality.

The weeks after that seemed to move rather fast. I had a CT scan, MRI, bloodwork, doctor visits, and finally a plan. I was numb. I only heard about half of what was being told to me. I knew I was in shock and denial. Luckily, my wife Carly was there taking notes, listening, and asking the doctors questions. I was finally able to come to my senses, with Carly’s help, and realize how serious a condition I had–Stage 3 Colorectal cancer. Although, I still felt a bit naive. I thought I could continue doing things exactly the same, like going to work each day, and I tried. But my doctors’ plan for me was twice a day oral chemo and once a day radiation treatment five days a week for a month, and to listen to my body. That was just for starters. Essentially, don’t push it. Well, I have always been someone who would go to work and rarely call out except for emergencies. The first week working was mostly fine; I only called out once. The next week was harder yet and I really struggled. I came to the realization that I needed to surrender a bit to this illness and take some time off work.

The nice thing is that I’m not alone on this journey. I have family, friends, and a great medical care team. I’m staying positive and making lists of things to do while I’m taking leave. I have tried to do one small project a day. Sometimes those projects are phone calls while other times it's just cleaning the kitchen.

Throughout all of this, I have adopted a saying from Matthew Mercer’s popular D&D roleplaying series Critical Role: “Let the adventure begin." Because to me that is what this is, an “adventure”. And in this adventure I will slay the dragon called cancer.