Thole Family: Medical, Travel & MN Living Expenses

Hi! My name is Claire Barrett, and I'm just one of many who live and work in this tiny but mighty community of Skagway, AK, but we come together when one of our own is in need. We are asking you, NEAR AND FAR, to do the same.

Cory, Mary, Julius and Anika cannot express enough of their eternal gratitude for all you and all your many forms of support.

The beginning of Cory’s journey to overcome the aggressive form of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma he was diagnosed with in August can be read below. On November 9th, he reached the ½ way point of his treatment, and hopefully, only a few more months are left before he is cancer-free!

Cory truly believes he and his family can maintain a high level of positivity and resiliency because of all your kind words, prayers, jokes and actions, such as helping check our home heat, checking the chickens, hosting and staying with our children while Mary visits, getting the property ready for winter, relocating their camper, clearing their driveway, thoughtful gifts, and all of the generous donations to name a few.

The Thole’s would like to acknowledge everyone responsible for hosting and organizing the fundraisers at the Red Onion Saloon, The Skagway Emblem’s Club, The Skagway Brew Co., The Skagway Elk’s Club #431, The Skagway Eagles Fraternity #25, Vita Bella Ristorante’ in Zimmerman, MN, and the Clearwater MN Legion. And a very special thank you to everyone who has donated services or merchandise to these events, donated air miles, and everyone who has participated in these events/fundraising efforts or donated in one way or another. The amount of support and love they have experienced has been overwhelming and incredibly humbling. With no uncertain terms, Cory would like you to know that all your generous actions have directly aided in his ability to focus on healing and overcoming this illness by reducing the heavy financial stress that initially accompanied this new journey. He also wants you to let him know if there is any way he can return the favor in the future!

Thank you in advance for your contribution. With your help, great strides are being made to meet the financial demands of his treatment, travel expenses for himself and his family, and additional costs incurred while he temporarily relocated to Rochester, MN, to receive treatment each week at the Mayo Clinic!

You can read the abbreviated Thole Story here:

On August 1st, an MRI conducted at Juneau Bone and Joint Center for the left shoulder and arm pain Cory had been experiencing revealed a bone marrow replacing mass in his humerus (upper arm) that has extruded into the muscles surrounding the bone. Four days after having JB & JC send the referral to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, they had Cory on the schedule for an MRI, CT assisted biopsy, X-rays and then a PET scan the following week at the Mayo Clinic. The PET scan showed that both humerus, especially his left arm, harbored a large amount of disease, as well as his right hip and minor spots throughout his body in his spine, sacrum and ribs. Genetic testing was then conducted to determine the type of disease and the appropriate treatment plan.

In mid-August, it was concluded Cory has aggressive large b-cell lymphoma and has been accepted into a clinical trial on top of his RCHOP chemo. It’s an international trial in its third round. Treatments began on September 7th. Cory is living next to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for his treatments. Mary hopes to travel back and forth from Alaska for each treatment cycle.

"We’ve been so unbelievably supported by the Lord, our families, our family of friends, and complete strangers as we’ve been running at top speed to get clarity of his diagnosis and treatment plan. We can’t thank EVERYONE enough for lifting up our hearts and giving us strength and hope through our devastation." ~ Mary Thole