Josh's Cancer Journey

My Cancer Journey

I'm Josh. I'm a hard-working husband and father. My wife is a stay at home mom which I am very thankful for and I am the only source of income for my family. I'm a caring guy who has a bit of a silly streak. I'm here hoping you can help me do a few things, but first let's take a brief look at my journey this far! 

Me loving having hair.

Me and my wife.

My kiddos. Not the goat....

About two years ago, I had a "pimple" on my nose. 

I popped it. Turns out it was skin cancer. No fun. It grew and grew until I couldn't ignore it any longer. A recent biopsy confirmed it is Basal Cell Carcinoma.

My new friend "Lesion" his sign is Cancer.

Biopsy site healed nicely.

After my biopsy, I was immediately scheduled for consultation and surgery. I had a lot of apprehension but ultimately went through with the MOHs surgery. MOHs surgery is where they meticulously remove small layers of tissue until all of the cancerous cells are removed. This is how much was excised for my cancer. 

The excised area was so large that it required reconstruction.  This was seemingly turning into a nightmare. The procedure for reconstruction is called a paramedian forehead flap. It's where they reassign a live graft fromy scalp to the excised site. This was tough. 

They had to take skin and cartilage from my ear to rebuild my nasal structure. Very interesting indeed. 

My first night home was pretty rough. 

Here are some photos showing my healing up to where the flap was removed. 

This is the day my flap was being removed. I livee with that for 3 whole weeks. Talk about growing attached! Lol. 

I opted for local anesthesia only for the take down. Very interesting to hear and feel all of that going on. 

Here is right before I get my last sutures out! 

And here we are! Now we just need to take the next 6-8 months and heal up. Such a success! 

What Will Your Donations Go Toward?

As you can imagine, such a procedure costs A LOT OF MONEY! The final cost of everything was over $50,000. Thankfully I do have insurance, however I am still left with about $12,000 out of pocket cost. 

Firstly, your donations will help me with my cancer journey costs. As I said, the cost is around $12,000. 

Secondly and most importantly, I am now an advocate for skin cancer awareness. Any donations above the $12,000 will go towards raising awareness in young adults and men. I feel these two demographics are often overlooked when it comes to skincare. 

I am currently seeking sponsorships from 2 large sunscreen corporations to be able to host local events in my community. My goal is that I develop a non-profit and am able to extend my reach all over! 

I am very passionate about this. My situation was so avoidable with just some education and protection. I want to take my cancer journey and make it worthwhile! Help me do that please! 

I will continue to update here as we move forward. I am so thankful you've taken the time to read my story. If you can't donate, please share! Even if it just changes someone's mind about being in the sun unprotected, it will be worth it! 

Thank you! 

Josh