Mike Fanta Fundraiser

Hey everyone! My name is Kiersten and I'm raising money for my dad, Mike, as he was recently diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma. Born & raised in Hillsboro, WI, he played football, basketball & baseball at HHS before graduating in 1983. He worked at WRDB/WNFM (Wade Michaels) for 5 ½ years, then later at Pace Industries/Primex Plastics in Reedsburg for 28 ½ years and has worked at Flambeau Plastics in Baraboo the past 3 years. We’re raising money to help offset costs as he’s been the sole income earner since his wife, Monica, has been unable to work since being diagnosed with heart failure 10 years ago. Between Monica’s breast cancer and chemo-induced heart failure, and now Mike’s diagnosis, their expenses are piling up.

How we got here:

Mike had fallen after slipping on ice back in January and hit his head. He was taken to the doctor the next day where they did a CT scan and they ended up releasing him stating he had a concussion, but otherwise, he was ok. Months later, in March, he started having issues with his balance. After losing his balance pretty regularly, he agreed to go in to the doctor to get checked out. April 11th his doctor initially thought he had vertigo, so he prescribed some medication for that, but that afternoon he called and told Mike not to take it as it might be the crystals in his ears/head got knocked loose and that could be fixed with physical therapy. On April 13th he went in for his PT appointment, but after a couple of tests, the therapist said it was not vertigo. While waiting to get approved to set up an appointment for an MRI, he fell (luckily into the couch) on April 19th. Monica told him on April 21st that they were not waiting on insurance anymore and that he needed to go into the ER. There, they did a CT scan which showed a mass on his brain, so they transferred him to UW Hospital in Madison. On April 22nd UW did an MRI on his brain, and later, another CT scan – this time on his chest, abdomen, and pelvic area. Unfortunately, this scan showed a larger mass on his esophagus as well as swollen lymph nodes. They did a biopsy on April 23rd to figure out what kind of cancer they were dealing with, and what the next steps would be for treatment. On April 26th the pathology report came back with the diagnosis of Adenocarcinoma. Friday, April 28th they did surgery to remove the mass on the brain and sent it in for testing – if it’s esophageal cancer, they advised they would likely not remove what’s in the body, just treat with chemo and/or radiation. If it’s something else, they will operate and remove the tumor on the esophagus. Any and all amounts of donations are greatly appreciated to help offset costs! <3

Follow his journey on Facebook: Prayer Chain for Mike Fanta

Other ways to Donate: PayPal (@fantamonica), Venmo (@mmfanta)