Support Bruce Green’s Family With Final Expenses

Dad's GoFundMe

On January 5th, 2024, my dad, Bruce Green, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. From the very beginning, his battle was hard. The first type of treatment he was given was a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The first two treatments went well, after the third treatment he started developing a mild rash. His doctor prescribed a steroid in hopes that it would clear the rash. He received the fourth treatment and the rash went rampant. It was all over his entire body. His doctor admitted him into the hospital for care of his rash. He was admitted on a Sunday and released the following Friday. Come Sunday again he was having complications with his rash and was admitted to the Bethlehem campus of St Luke’s Hospital. They cared for and studied his rash. They told my dad he was 1 of 300 million to have a reaction this bad from the chemotherapy/immunotherapy. The AMA is writing a research paper on the extent of the rash/reaction my dad had from this treatment. He was released again from the hospital the following Sunday.

The doctors stopped treatment completely until his skin was cleared up. The reaction took about six weeks to heal completely. Even with all the complications from this first treatment, the original tumor shrunk 65% in size. We were ecstatic thinking this meant he was almost in the clear.

After his rash healed, the doctors came up with a new plan. The new plan was for him to get radiation treatments and a mild chemotherapy. He started having pain on the left side of his back in his rib area. The doctors didn’t seem too concerned and proceeded to start the next treatment plan. The pain seemed to come and go at first but then it started being consistent and get much worse. My dad kept telling the doctors about his pain and finally they ordered a CT scan for him. Unfortunately, the results of the CT scan were not something we wanted to hear. The cancer had spread. It was growing in his lung cavity but now it was also in some of his rib bones, in some of his vertebrae, and on his liver. We received this unfortunate news in early June and my dad declined very quickly afterwards. He was in and out of the hospital from June until his last stay in the hospital at the beginning of August. The doctors talked to him and the family and decided his body was too weak to continue any kind of treatment. We all decided that his best option for him was to come home on hospice. Monday, August 5th, 2024, just 7 months after his original diagnosis, my dad came home on hospice. After a very short amount of time on hospice, my dad passed away peacefully and comfortably in his home surrounded by his family and grandchildren.

During all this, my dad lost the ability to work. Not only did he lose his income but he also lost his insurance. I don’t know if it was pride or stubbornness but he wouldn’t apply for social security or state insurance. With that, the medical bills have been piling up with very little money to pay them. He also did not have life insurance to aid the cost of his final expenses. I am reaching out to the community to ask for help to pay for his outstanding medical bills and the funeral costs. Any donations, big or small, will help tremendously and be greatly appreciated!