Supporting Chris and Sally Jackson in Their Time of Need

Hello Community of Friends and Family,

In September 2024 Chris Jackson was diagnosed with bladder cancer. After two initial surgeries, our family got the surprising news the week before Thanksgiving that his particular malignancy is Urothelial Carcinoma with Trophoblastic Differentiation (UCTD), an aggressive and rare form of bladder cancer. We were told that he would need to have his bladder and prostate removed as quickly as possible. Chris’s doctors at Dana Farber have thankfully been able to move swiftly, and this surgery was completed on November 26th.

The past few months have been a whirlwind, and we are forever both grateful and in constant awe and admiration of the community that surrounds us and has been holding my dad, and our entire family, in their thoughts as he navigates these tremendous life changes. From the texts and phone calls, to friends showing up to stack wood to get my parents through the winter, thank you all.

We are starting this fundraiser, at the kind encouragement of friends in our community asking how they can support, in order to ease some of the stress from the financial burden of treatment for my parents and allow them to focus solely on healing. These funds will support any outstanding medical bills and treatment costs, an emergency fund due to unexpected costs, as well as living expenses and lost wages as my dad will be off work for the foreseeable future. Unknown still is how much time my (incredible) mom (and wife extraordinaire) Sally will have to take off in order to support Chris's continued recovery and any further treatment. There are still at this point many unknowns, and we thank you all for riding this wave of uncertainty alongside us.

A dear friend wrote on the day of this most recent surgery that she considers my dad to be a "spiritual leader of our fleet of friends and sailors", and to me it captures his essence perfectly. There is nothing either of my parents find more joy in than showing up and being a part of this community of ours here on Cape Cod.

It can sometimes be hard for those who give so freely of themselves with such joy to be able to be open to receive that same love and support back in times of need. Thank you to those in the community who have encouraged our family to be open to your support.