In memory of Brandon Hamm
Donation protected
Brandon Hamm passed away peacefully on Wednesday April 7, 2021 at 4:42PM. Brandon was 21 years old. Brandon was battling metastatic osteosarcoma in the lung. His strength and perseverance was meritorious. He was one hell of a fighter and the strongest person I have ever come to know. No matter how hard he was fighting, he never wanted anyone to feel sorry for him. Brandon has touched many lives and will be truly missed.
Brandon's story:
As many of you know, Brandon has been dealing with cancer since he was 3 years old. Melanie found the first lump on his right thigh when he was just 3. That was rhabomyosarcoma and he was treated with chemo and radiation and then had surgery to remove the tumor. He then was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his femur bone at the age of 7, which was due to having radiation treatments. He was then found to have LFS (Li-Fraumeni Syndrome). Which makes him more susceptible to certain cancers. He again was treated with chemo and then surgery to replace his femur bone with a titanium rod. In November of 2017 him and Mel have been going to Penn yearly for full body MRIs to make sure there are no new growths. They found a tumor on his kidney which was surgically removed Jan of 2018. January 2019, he had another one frozen off instead of having surgery again. In April of 2019, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the left side of his jaw. They surgically removed the cancerous part of the bone and replaced it with part of his right fibula. They used skin from his right calf to cover his jawbone and to reconstruct gums. And then a skin graft from right thigh to repair right calf. Forward a year, May of 2020, he was diagnosed again with osteosarcoma on his jaw. They replace the skin on his chin with skin from his left forearm and took a skin graft from left thigh to repair forearm. In October of 2020, he was diagnosed with metastatic osteosarcoma in his right lung. It was inoperable and incurable He went through chemotherapy treatments 1x every three weeks for 6 rounds. On December 22, 2020 a scan showed that the chemotherapy wasn't affecting the tumor, so they started a more aggressive chemotherapy regimen, 3 days inpatient, every 3 weeks. On March 9th of 2021, Brandon was taken to the ER, he had very bad pain on his left side, especially when he took a deep breath. He was in the hospital for about 2 weeks and was released with oxygen because he was short of breath while walking short distances. He was ok at home for a few days and even managed to play on the computer one night. A couple days later he asked to use the oxygen all the time. Tim took him down to Philadelphia to Penn Medicine a few days later. The oncologist said his tumors, although have stopped growing, had been pressed up against his diaphragm and making his heart and lung work extra hard. A week later here we are.... heartbroken.
This fundraiser is to help ease the cost of funeral expenses and other existing medical costs, every donation will go directly to help with funeral costs and other existing medical costs, no amount is too small.
The donations will go directly to Tim Hamm and Melanie Hamm.
If the fund were to exceed Brandon's expenses, the funds would be passed onto another family in need.
Brandon's story:
As many of you know, Brandon has been dealing with cancer since he was 3 years old. Melanie found the first lump on his right thigh when he was just 3. That was rhabomyosarcoma and he was treated with chemo and radiation and then had surgery to remove the tumor. He then was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his femur bone at the age of 7, which was due to having radiation treatments. He was then found to have LFS (Li-Fraumeni Syndrome). Which makes him more susceptible to certain cancers. He again was treated with chemo and then surgery to replace his femur bone with a titanium rod. In November of 2017 him and Mel have been going to Penn yearly for full body MRIs to make sure there are no new growths. They found a tumor on his kidney which was surgically removed Jan of 2018. January 2019, he had another one frozen off instead of having surgery again. In April of 2019, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the left side of his jaw. They surgically removed the cancerous part of the bone and replaced it with part of his right fibula. They used skin from his right calf to cover his jawbone and to reconstruct gums. And then a skin graft from right thigh to repair right calf. Forward a year, May of 2020, he was diagnosed again with osteosarcoma on his jaw. They replace the skin on his chin with skin from his left forearm and took a skin graft from left thigh to repair forearm. In October of 2020, he was diagnosed with metastatic osteosarcoma in his right lung. It was inoperable and incurable He went through chemotherapy treatments 1x every three weeks for 6 rounds. On December 22, 2020 a scan showed that the chemotherapy wasn't affecting the tumor, so they started a more aggressive chemotherapy regimen, 3 days inpatient, every 3 weeks. On March 9th of 2021, Brandon was taken to the ER, he had very bad pain on his left side, especially when he took a deep breath. He was in the hospital for about 2 weeks and was released with oxygen because he was short of breath while walking short distances. He was ok at home for a few days and even managed to play on the computer one night. A couple days later he asked to use the oxygen all the time. Tim took him down to Philadelphia to Penn Medicine a few days later. The oncologist said his tumors, although have stopped growing, had been pressed up against his diaphragm and making his heart and lung work extra hard. A week later here we are.... heartbroken.
This fundraiser is to help ease the cost of funeral expenses and other existing medical costs, every donation will go directly to help with funeral costs and other existing medical costs, no amount is too small.
The donations will go directly to Tim Hamm and Melanie Hamm.
If the fund were to exceed Brandon's expenses, the funds would be passed onto another family in need.
Organizer and beneficiary
John Korutz
Organizer
Breinigsville, PA
Melanie Hamm
Beneficiary