Support Ben's Battle Against Bile Duct Cancer

On March 12th, 2025, at the age of 40, my brother, Ben, was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive bile duct cancer that metastasized to his liver: intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. He had pain in his abdomen, and the doctors said it was most likely just indigestion. When the pain got worse and worse, they ordered a CT scan of his abdomen to find his liver filled with innumerable hepatic masses. A needle biopsy was performed, and they determined it was malignant but had not started in the liver. The pain got so debilitating he got admitted into the hospital for a week, which resulted in multiple tests: endoscopy, colonoscopy, etc. They determined it started in the hepatic bile duct. He started his first round of chemo in the hospital as soon as they found out what type of cancer it is.

This has all moved so quickly. The following week, we met the GI oncologist, palliative care, lots of labs, and took a trip to Dana Farber for a second opinion and more blood work to determine genetic testing as well as other clinical trial treatment options. This week, as I sit here typing, Ben is in a 3-hour procedure getting a port put in, which will make it easier for giving chemo and blood work. He is on round 2 of chemo as of last week and is to receive treatments on Day 1, 8, and 21 indefinitely, followed by immunotherapy. He has another scan scheduled in May to see how it's going.

Fortunately, Ben has very good medical insurance through his work that covers quite a bit, but not all of it. He is not working as of right now due to the pain in the liver. Since being diagnosed, it has been a whirlwind of doctor's appointments, treatments, and driving. He plans to live as normally as possible and work when he can. The doctors said once the tumors on the liver start to shrink from chemo, the pain will subside enough to be able to work again, but some weeks he just won't be able to.

Even though this is tough, Ben is incredibly positive. He is so grateful to have amazing friends, an awesome and supportive company to work for, and a loving family. He will need to cover living expenses while undergoing treatment and healing as he will not be able to work through the whole process. This is why I am putting together this GoFundMe, to assist in alleviating some of the financial worries he is dealing with and help him with the stress of it all. The love he has felt from everyone is so encouraging and has made this fight a little bit easier. Again, thank you so much for being there for him. Together we are strong, Ecclesiastes 4:10.