Jonathan Torres- Stage 4 Colon Cancer
Donation protected
It was early October when a series of events turned my brother’s life upside down. Jonathan is a Deputy Sheriff for the Los Angeles Sheriff Department and was on patrol the day he started complaining about sharp pains coming from the side of his belly. Many of us played doctor with what could be wrong with him telling him it was probably nothing serious. In typical Jonathan fashion, he tried to push through the pain, but it was so severe that he went to urgent care to get it checked out. Given the location of his pain, he was told that he might have gallstones and that they needed to perform an ultrasound to be sure. The ultrasound revealed no gallstones, but several masses on his liver. Without jumping to conclusions, he was scheduled for a biopsy about a month away. Not even two weeks had passed before he couldn't take the pain and fatigue any longer and went to the Emergency Department. It was then that an emergency biopsy and full body CT scan were performed. Not much else was told to my brother but he was given a referral to see an oncologist on 11/8/18. Although Jonathan and all of our family remained optimistic, anxiety was through the roof as his oncology appointment to confirm his diagnosis was still a couple weeks away.
A few days later, my brother received a phone call from Kaiser and was told that the sample from the biopsy was confirmed to be a cancerous tumor. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer with metastases (spread) to the liver. The liver having several tumors.
We were all in shock and disbelief. Cancer again?!?! We lost our grandfather and two uncles from cancer all within a few years from each other. This news tore us at our core. But now, to learn that my baby brother, at only 27 years of age with a beautiful 1 year old daughter, had just received such an unexpected diagnosis was devastating. He was just settling in to his adult life with a loving wife, a new starter home, and a career as a deputy sheriff that he was so excited about. Why him!? Why now!?
Google quickly became my best friend as I did all the research I could. To my surprise, colon cancer doesn’t only happen to men over 50. The more I read, the more I learned about how this disease takes lives so damn often no matter what age. With more knowledge about this disease, our family came closer together and didn't think twice about our mission to help my brother fight this horrible disease.
On 11/12/18, my brother went to his chemotherapy orientation at Kaiser and was given information on what to expect from chemotherapy and how to best deal with the side effects. He was told that the nausea, vomiting, and fatigue he had already been experiencing would increase with chemotherapy.
"Nothing but the best" is what our unified motto was. So even though he had health insurance through Kaiser, he scheduled a consultation for a second opinion with a well know cancer hospital called City of Hope. On 11/15/18, Jonathan met with an oncologist at City of Hope and was very pleased with him, the staff, and the facility in Duarte. They gave him a breakdown of how they would treat him if he chose to get treatment there. It was almost a no brainer that he needed to be there ASAP. He immediately submitted a request to switch his health insurance to begin treatment at City of Hope for better care.
My brother decided to start with his first round of chemotherapy via IV at Kaiser on 11/20/18 in order to not delay his treatment. He seemed fine until about 48 hours later when the nausea and fatigue set into high gear and all he wanted to do was rest. Then on 11/23/18, he underwent surgery to have a port placed to better receive the chemotherapy drugs. Fatigue, constant nausea, surgery, stress, fear of the unknown, worried about work, maintaining a family, keeping a wife happy, and maintaining a positive outlook is a true test of willpower and self discipline and focus. But as expected, my brother is pushing through and fighting this to the best of his ability. He is a fighter, always has been!
Cancer doesn’t only test a person’s physical health, emotional strength and the bond of one’s relationships. It is a vicious disease that infiltrates every facet of a person’s life. While we are all ready to help Jonathan fight this head-on, we anticipate huge financial stress with a decrease of pay due to loss of overtime opportunities, hospital copays and coinsurance fees, consultation expenses, increased insurance premiums, specialty medications, external care, family needs and upkeep.
The goal is to beat cancer! But until we get there, I am humbly asking you to help my brother in any amount you can so that he and his wife can focus all of their attention and efforts to their fight against cancer. Please know that any help will forever be appreciated.
Jonathan. We will never stop fighting for you, we will never give up, you are not alone.
Your brother,
Jorge Torres Jr
A few days later, my brother received a phone call from Kaiser and was told that the sample from the biopsy was confirmed to be a cancerous tumor. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer with metastases (spread) to the liver. The liver having several tumors.
We were all in shock and disbelief. Cancer again?!?! We lost our grandfather and two uncles from cancer all within a few years from each other. This news tore us at our core. But now, to learn that my baby brother, at only 27 years of age with a beautiful 1 year old daughter, had just received such an unexpected diagnosis was devastating. He was just settling in to his adult life with a loving wife, a new starter home, and a career as a deputy sheriff that he was so excited about. Why him!? Why now!?
Google quickly became my best friend as I did all the research I could. To my surprise, colon cancer doesn’t only happen to men over 50. The more I read, the more I learned about how this disease takes lives so damn often no matter what age. With more knowledge about this disease, our family came closer together and didn't think twice about our mission to help my brother fight this horrible disease.
On 11/12/18, my brother went to his chemotherapy orientation at Kaiser and was given information on what to expect from chemotherapy and how to best deal with the side effects. He was told that the nausea, vomiting, and fatigue he had already been experiencing would increase with chemotherapy.
"Nothing but the best" is what our unified motto was. So even though he had health insurance through Kaiser, he scheduled a consultation for a second opinion with a well know cancer hospital called City of Hope. On 11/15/18, Jonathan met with an oncologist at City of Hope and was very pleased with him, the staff, and the facility in Duarte. They gave him a breakdown of how they would treat him if he chose to get treatment there. It was almost a no brainer that he needed to be there ASAP. He immediately submitted a request to switch his health insurance to begin treatment at City of Hope for better care.
My brother decided to start with his first round of chemotherapy via IV at Kaiser on 11/20/18 in order to not delay his treatment. He seemed fine until about 48 hours later when the nausea and fatigue set into high gear and all he wanted to do was rest. Then on 11/23/18, he underwent surgery to have a port placed to better receive the chemotherapy drugs. Fatigue, constant nausea, surgery, stress, fear of the unknown, worried about work, maintaining a family, keeping a wife happy, and maintaining a positive outlook is a true test of willpower and self discipline and focus. But as expected, my brother is pushing through and fighting this to the best of his ability. He is a fighter, always has been!
Cancer doesn’t only test a person’s physical health, emotional strength and the bond of one’s relationships. It is a vicious disease that infiltrates every facet of a person’s life. While we are all ready to help Jonathan fight this head-on, we anticipate huge financial stress with a decrease of pay due to loss of overtime opportunities, hospital copays and coinsurance fees, consultation expenses, increased insurance premiums, specialty medications, external care, family needs and upkeep.
The goal is to beat cancer! But until we get there, I am humbly asking you to help my brother in any amount you can so that he and his wife can focus all of their attention and efforts to their fight against cancer. Please know that any help will forever be appreciated.
Jonathan. We will never stop fighting for you, we will never give up, you are not alone.
Your brother,
Jorge Torres Jr
Organizer and beneficiary
Jorge Torres Jr
Organizer
Pico Rivera, CA
Jonathan Torres
Beneficiary