Cancer Has Returned... Help Is Needed

In 2019, Hector “Mathew” Moreno was a typical 22-year-old. He was a college student who worked part-time and spent his free time going out with his friends and girlfriend, actively participating in his church young adults group and just happily living his life. That all came to a halt the summer of 2019 when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma. Matthew had no symptoms or any other indication that his body was unwell, nor did he have any unhealthy habits. Even so, this was the diagnosis…..Stage 4 cancer.

While Matthew and his family were devastated, their attitude was to tackle this disease one step at a time, taking one day at a time, all while putting their faith in God. Matthew stopped working and going to school to focus on beating this disease. The treatments were intense and spanned an entire year. Thankfully, the hospital where he was treated was not far from his family’s home in San Jose, California. Matthew responded very well and finished his treatment with very few complications in September of 2020. Once his treatments were completed, his scans came back clean and he celebrated the news of being cancer free after two different scans.

However, in July 2021, after a third routine scan, the doctor explained that his cancer had returned and was a full relapse. A month away from Matthew’s 25th birthday and one semester away from finishing his degree at SJSU, this was not the news he was expecting. The doctor also explained that there was little he could do with traditional chemotherapy or radiation. He recommended a doctor in Santa Monica, Ca who'd had success with treating Sarcomas through clinical trials. So Matthew’s family traveled to Southern California to see what their options were. After meeting with the doctors, they said Matthew was a good candidate for their program and they were very hopeful. (Thankfully, Matthew’s insurance approved his treatment at this clinic, even though it is out of their network). However, Matthew and at least one of his family members will have to travel to and from Santa Monica almost every week for an extended amount of time to allow Matthew to undergo this next round of cancer treatment. Matthew’s mom and dad are still working to support the home, but have worked out a system for each of them to travel with Matthew because he will need monitoring. However, the added expense of gas and/or airfare for the weekly trips to and from Santa Monica, along with housing/hotel needs will add up and the family needs our help.

Any amount you can give will be a huge blessing to this family. Thank you and God Bless You!