Help Adam Holt Fight Stage IV Cancer!

Short Read

 

Adam Holt has been fighting metastatic Stage IV rectal cancer since his diagnosis on February 14, 2022. His two-year journey at USA Mitchell Cancer Institute in Mobile, AL has been hard fought, but the latest news from his doctors has switched his status from curative to palliative…

 

Fortunately, Adam has just been ACCEPTED to MD Anderson in Houston, the #1 cancer center in the U.S., for a clinical trial where he will likely stay for 2 to 3 months. While, he has been financially cleared through his Blue Cross insurance policy, Adam could use some financial love to help with lodging, meals, travel expenses, and for paying bills while he is unable to work during this time.

 

Long Read

 

Adam Holt has been a member of the Gulf Coast music community for 25 years, playing music venues, restaurants, festivals, Mardi Gras parades and balls, weddings, and dueling piano shows, etc. Over the years as a singer/songwriter/performer, he has written, produced, and recorded a few albums of his own and helped other area musicians achieve their goals by recording them at his studio. He has been married to his wife Jillian for over 9 years and between the two of them, they share 3 daughters and a Dalmatian.

 

In January of 2022, Adam reached out to his primary care doctor about irregular bowel symptoms he was having, so he was referred to USA Hospital for his very first colonoscopy at age 43. The colonoscopy revealed a large rectal tumor, and the doctor immediately ordered a CT scan the same day, which also showed a tumor on his lung. He was diagnosed with metastatic Stage IV Rectal cancer on Valentine’s Day of 2022, and began treatment right away.

 

While getting treatment at USA Mitchell Cancer Institute in 2022, he underwent:

 

·      Lung surgery on March 10

·      5 sessions of rectal tumor radiation beginning March 14

·      4 months of chemo starting April 4th

 

CT scans on August 2 revealed another lung tumor on the other lung, and moving forward he underwent:

 

·      Major colorectal surgery to remove the main tumor on September 7, with an ileostomy bag for 3 months.

·      Second lung surgery to remove the other lung tumor on October 20.

·      Ileostomy reversal surgery on December 9.

 

A November 15th scan showed that all tumors had successfully been removed and there was no evidence of cancer. However, in January of 2023, additional blood work showed cancer cells still in his body, so under the direction of his oncology team he resumed chemotherapy. The next CT scan on February 14 (one year after diagnosis) revealed two more tumors, a 2cm adrenal gland tumor and a 1cm lymph node tumor near the lung. Chemo treatment continued until April.

 

In the early morning hours of April 20th, Adam had a grand mal seizure in his sleep, was sent via ambulance to South Baldwin hospital, then forwarded to Sacred Heart in Pensacola where an MRI scan of the brain revealed two 1cm tumors in the back of the brain. After transferring back to USA Hospital and spending the night in the ICU, a team of neurosurgeons and their staff assured that radiation could be done to remove the tumor spots. Radiation treatment was scheduled in Fairhope and three sessions of brain radiation did the job. His two follow up MRI scans in August and November have shown 100% success in removing the brain tumors.

 

While undergoing treatment for the brain tumors, Adam had to take a break from chemotherapy for 5 weeks, resuming at the end of May with carrying on until the next CT scan in August. That scan showed the 1cm lymph node tumor had reduced in size to almost nothing, but that the adrenal gland tumor had remained the same size, leading to another 3 months of chemotherapy. By the end of that round of treatments, a November CT scan revealed the lymph node tumor was virtually undetectable, but the adrenal gland tumor was still the same size. The next plan was to prepare for surgery to remove the adrenal gland tumor.

 

In preparation for adrenal gland surgery, a December 15th PET scan revealed two new tumors, a 1cm tumor on the liver and another 1cm lymph node tumor. At that point the team at USA Health switched Adam’s status from curative to palliative care, with chemotherapy as the only option for the remainder of his life, however many years that may be.

 

Immediately after the results of the PET scan, Adam applied online to be treated at MD Anderson and got a call back the next day. After discussing his cancer journey over the phone with the intake specialist, sharing his Blue Cross health insurance info, and allowing for his medical history/scans to be pulled, MDA accepted him in just two days and said he was financially cleared and ready for his first visit.

 

As of now, we know that Adam will be participating in a clinical trial for stage IV Rectal Cancer at MD Anderson. Participants in clinical trials are required to live in Houston for a minimum of 2-3 months. He’ll have to rent a long term AirBnB where he’ll stay for the duration of the trial which means he can’t play gigs during that time. His wife Jillian – who hasn’t missed a scan, surgery, or treatment appointment in 2 years, including sleeping in a plastic chair overnight in the ICU, will be flying out to stay with her husband for a few days at a time, as her work schedule permits. Southwest Airlines has a daily direct flight from Pensacola to Houston for around $300 round trip.

 

As many know, in addition to playing live gigs, Adam has also booked the live music for all three LuLu’s restaurant locations for the last 6 years. While he can still work remotely from his laptop and cell phone while in Houston, that side income has only ever covered about 1/3 of his total income. Any and all contributions to this Go Fund Me will directly help Adam pay for:

 

1. Lodging and meals in Houston.

2. Lost income opportunities that help pay for regular monthly bills.

3. Jillian’s travel between Pensacola and Houston.

4. Any smaller charges that could add up, like Uber/taxi service to and from the hospital, Instacart for grocery deliveries, etc.

 

**If you would like to contribute to Adam’s cause in other ways, Adam has a Venmo account at @adamholtmusic where you can send donations. Adam also started Zco Shirts a few months back and has been designing and selling custom printed shirts and shipping them to customers around the country! Because he can operate this business remotely, you can also support him by purchasing any of his 70+ designs at ZcoShirts.com and you’d be getting a high-quality product in return!

 

Please donate if you can and share to help spread the message! Thank you!