Help Ryan Overcome Cancer and Regain Strength

All funds raised will go to help support Ryan and his family with medical, travel, and additional hospital expenses.

The start to Ryan’s Senior Year at Sheboygan South was all but what he had hoped.

Beginning in mid August Ryan had not been feeling well and had been to the walk in clinic a couple times. On Thursday, August 22nd he went in for the third time to do various tests to figure out what was going on, as they had originally thought it was a virus.

After a few hours they determined he needed to go to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee as they suspected he had cancer. Ryan endured more testing Thursday night in which it was then determined Ryan had testicular cancer (a germ-cell tumor). Due to Ryan’s age and still being a child, this type of cancer can affect other parts of his body. After more scans, it was found that particles of the cancer also landed on his kidneys, lungs, liver, and brain.

On Friday August 23rd, Ryan had two different surgeries to remove the testicle with the tumor and insert the port for chemotherapy.

From Saturday August 24th until Tuesday the 27th Ryan recovered from surgery and did his best to build up any strength he could to start Chemotherapy. Unfortunately his body was too weak to start on Tuesday August 27th, so they sent him home to get good rest and to lift his spirits with the plan to start chemotherapy on Thursday August 29th.

Ryan began his inpatient chemo after a long day of testing on Thursday August 29th. During Ryan’s 2nd dose of chemo on Thursday night he had an allergic reaction to that specific chemo drug which was a scary moment for Ryan, as 12 nurses rushed into the room to get everything under control. He wore an oxygen mask, had terrible lower back pain, his throat started to close, and luckily they were able to give him Benadryl to control the reaction, and stopped that specific chemo drug immediately. He carried on with the 3rd and final chemo drug on Thursday night and carried on for the next four days of treatment without any more issues. Even though there were no reactions, Ryan still fought through his first five days of chemo with very little appetite and energy to get out of bed. We appreciated all the prayers for him during that time.

Ryan’s Full-Chemo Treatment Plan includes the following:

He is on a 12 week plan which will include 4 rounds.

One round is made up of three weeks and includes:

Week One – Five straight days of inpatient Chemotherapy at Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee. Each day he will receive 5 rounds of chemo treatment.

Week Two – One day of outpatient chemo lasting 2-4 hours with other tests and doctor appointments to follow.

Week Three – One day of outpatient chemo lasting 2-4 hours with other tests and doctor appointments to follow.

This three-week cycle will repeat for four total rounds.

As of Thursday September 12th, Ryan has completed his first full round of chemo.

We are happy to share that even though he has lost 33 pounds, he is gaining his appetite back and his spirits are lifting. He is still working on his energy and ability to take walks and to be on his feet for more than a minute at a time but we know he will get there!

Ryan has thoroughly enjoyed being at home since his five-day treatment cycle and has enjoyed eating some of his favorite foods again like his Grandma’s Tater Tot Casserole, Meatballs, Caramel Bars, and Culvers Ice Cream.

In all of this, the good news is Ryan’s cancer is treatable and curable, however he has a long road ahead.

Thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated for Ryan. Please pray for him that he may understand what he is going through and handle this journey because he is scared and it is difficult for a 17 year old to understand but with the support he has received and continues to receive, we know he will get through this.

Thank you so much.

Melissa, Jason, Ashley, and Ryan Stephen