Support Phillip Blanton's Fight Against Prostate Cancer

My name is Mike York and I am hoping to raise funds for my good friend Phillip Blanton's cancer fight.

Phillip and his wife Mary Ann, and their daughters Daly Faith and Sydney Ayn have been in our lives now for about fifteen years and they are a really wonderful family. Phillip and I are very close and share a lot in common. In fact, Phillip and I have entered into a business together and are working together to build the business into a strong and ethical enterprise which will serve our community for a long time. But profitability is a ways off, and that's a story for a different day.

Earlier this year Phillip was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. Fortunately it was caught before it spread out of the prostate (but it was close), thanks in part to Mary Ann's persistent nagging to get his blood and PSA tested regularly. Mary Ann is a Native American and a bit of an old hippie, and keeps him on top of his health in various ways. It is clear that her constant focus on health and nutrition has saved his life, which is something he expects to never hear the end of.

Fortunately Phillip has medical insurance that is taking care of part of the medical expenses, but he and Mary Ann have had to leave Colorado for the summer and are spending a few months at MD. Anderson in Houston for his treatment.

A study done in 2020 shows that catching prostate cancer early and using more modern treatments can improve survival rates. We are very hopeful that these new treatments and the fact that Phillip's cancer was caught before it spread will contribute to a positive outcome, but these new medical improvements are expensive and insurance doesn't cover them fully, which pushes patients suffering with these cancers into financial ruin. This in combination with the expenses of living temporarily in a new city are causing a financial strain on Phillip and Mary Ann that we hope to help with by setting up this GoFundMe account.

Phillip and his wife are planning on selling their house in Colorado to cover the largest part of the expenses related to his treatment, but the house was in the middle of major renovations when Phillip was diagnosed with cancer and immediately placed on hormone therapy. If you, or anyone you have ever known have been on hormone therapy, then you know it renders you weak and tired all the time. Since Phillip and Mary Ann were doing all of the work on the house themselves, work on the house ground to a halt in January 2024.

The trip to Houston is underway, and the medical expenses are just beginning mount. The treatment he is receiving is expensive and the costs are adding up quickly.

Phillip and Mary Ann left for Houston in May and will be there until the end of July. So far they have spent a little over $9,000 on medical expenses and have an outstanding, unpaid debt of a little under $3,000 in medical bills at this time. They are living in an RV at the Lakeview RV park in Houston during treatment and have spent about $3,000 on their travel and remote living situation so far. They are less than halfway through treatment and most of the medical bills have yet to materialize. We expect all costs to be somewhere near the $70,000 mark.

Toward this end we are asking for $65,000 and hope you can do something to help us reach our goal.

Phillip has been sharing the details of his cancer fight with his friends and family. You can go read about it on his personal website which can be found at https://phillipblanton.com/category/fighting-cancer/

He promised me that he will step up his update schedule and keep the site as current as possible while he undergoes treatment.