Jason McNamee vs. cancer
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The McNamee family is not a stranger to cancer. In 2009, when their first child was just 11 months old Jason was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the tongue for the first time. The following treatment of extensive surgery, radiation and chemo took a tremendous toll on their family. Jason was completely out of order for nearly 5 months as he went through treatment and recovered. Jason's wife Rebekah didn’t skip a beat and continued to work full time and take care of their baby, not to mention taking care of Jason. At the end of treatment though it was declared that there was “no sign of disease” and that Jason's life could resume. They thought that they had put it all behind them.
Fast forward a little over 6 years to the Spring of 2015. Jason had noticed a sore spot on the preciously unaffected side of his tongue that would not seem to go away. After a couple of weeks he contacted the office of his otolaryngologist (head and neck doctor) to have it checked out. A biopsy identified it as cancer and surgery was completed in order to remove it. Thankfully,because he had been so quick to have it checked out, the surgery was relatively minimal and recovery was fairly quick.
In January of this year Jason noticed another persistent sore spot that was located near his throat, behind the area where his first surgery had taken place. His pain was unpleasant and made it difficult to eat. Again, after a couple weeks he called his otolaryngologist to have it checked out. Upon visual inspection he could not determine a reason for the pain so he recommended a PET/CT scan to ensure that no unusual cellular activity was present. The scans came back negative and while that was a good sign, the pain was still persistent and getting worse. Jason's doctor suggested that they do another biopsy just to rule out cancer. At his follow up appointment with his wife and 3 children in tow, the doctor walked in with a solemn look on his face. The cancer was back and had taken a hold in the back of his tongue near his throat. More invasive and complicated surgery must be done in order to ensure that the tumor is completely removed before it has time to metastasize to other areas of his body.
Through all of this, Jason's wife has remained his rock. Sure, she’s not immune to the emotional roller coaster that is their life, but still, she remains strong for Jason…and for their kids. Their oldest is aware of what is going on with daddy to some extent, but thankfully the other two are not old enough to completely grasp the reality of what they're dealing with.
Through this all we remain hopeful that things will improve. That Jason will regain his health. And that life can resume for him and his family without the fear of what’s going to come next.
Fast forward a little over 6 years to the Spring of 2015. Jason had noticed a sore spot on the preciously unaffected side of his tongue that would not seem to go away. After a couple of weeks he contacted the office of his otolaryngologist (head and neck doctor) to have it checked out. A biopsy identified it as cancer and surgery was completed in order to remove it. Thankfully,because he had been so quick to have it checked out, the surgery was relatively minimal and recovery was fairly quick.
In January of this year Jason noticed another persistent sore spot that was located near his throat, behind the area where his first surgery had taken place. His pain was unpleasant and made it difficult to eat. Again, after a couple weeks he called his otolaryngologist to have it checked out. Upon visual inspection he could not determine a reason for the pain so he recommended a PET/CT scan to ensure that no unusual cellular activity was present. The scans came back negative and while that was a good sign, the pain was still persistent and getting worse. Jason's doctor suggested that they do another biopsy just to rule out cancer. At his follow up appointment with his wife and 3 children in tow, the doctor walked in with a solemn look on his face. The cancer was back and had taken a hold in the back of his tongue near his throat. More invasive and complicated surgery must be done in order to ensure that the tumor is completely removed before it has time to metastasize to other areas of his body.
Through all of this, Jason's wife has remained his rock. Sure, she’s not immune to the emotional roller coaster that is their life, but still, she remains strong for Jason…and for their kids. Their oldest is aware of what is going on with daddy to some extent, but thankfully the other two are not old enough to completely grasp the reality of what they're dealing with.
Through this all we remain hopeful that things will improve. That Jason will regain his health. And that life can resume for him and his family without the fear of what’s going to come next.
Organizer and beneficiary
Barry Kerth
Organizer
Arlington, WA
Jason McNamee
Beneficiary