Help Us While I'm Treated for Pancreatic Cancer

We have increased our goal and revived this fundraiser. Please see the most current update for details.

Last year, when we originally created this, we raised over $7700 to help with my recovery from surgery. It helped us get through some very difficult times and we are very grateful to everyone that helped. 


Below is our original post. 

We need help. 

Last summer, after  a month of abdominal pain and being unsuccessfully treated for an ulcer, I (Jeremy) was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. No metastasis was detected but the tumor was locally advanced and surgery wasn't an immediate option. Within a month I started chemotherapy with the goal of shrinking the tumor. I had twelve rounds of chemo over 6 months and then about a month break before I started a regimen of radiation and oral chemo every weekday for 5 weeks.

And, great news! Tomorrow (July 6th) I'm having surgery to remove the tumor. It's a major surgery; they'll remove my spleen and a portion of my pancreas and might need to do some vascular reconstruction. I'm told I'll be in the hospital for 5-7 days and that full recovery will take 6-8 weeks. Not that I care about any of that. The goal is in sight! I trust the Universe (and my surgeons) to get me there. 

But, this has been a ... really ... hard year. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. Except for a couple one-day projects, I haven't worked since mid-September. What meager savings we had are long gone. The shutdown and coronavirus situation has made things more difficult. I'm in a very high risk category so, even though Wendy's preschool has partially reopened, she hasn't returned to work yet. We're behind on bills and can't count on much income in the near term. 

Our goal right now is to quell our immediate financial anxiety and get through the next few months while I heal and start looking for work again. (My clients over the last many years have been in the live entertainment industry, but no one is going to concerts right now, so it looks like I'm going to have to change that up too.)

I'm really not at all comfortable asking for money, especially when so many others are experiencing hardships too, but we're simply out of options at the moment. We'll be forever deeply grateful for the donations we receive. We'd also really appreciate it if you'd share this request with your community. We know few can give a lot but hope many can give just a little bit.

Our priorities for whatever donations we are able to collect will be, first, living expenses for the next few months, and second, paying off the past-due bills and medical expenses we've accumulated. If there is anything left in the long run, we'll look for a suitable charity to donate it to.

Thank you. Love to all.