Steve’s Cancer Fight GoFundME Boost IDIDIT Campaign Donors CrowdFundingExposure.com

Hello, I am a 45 year old father of two children (a 15 year old boy & a 10 year old girl) who is in need of help to pay for my medical treatment.

I was diagnosed with stage 3 Colon cancer in September of 2016 after 3 months of being misdiagnosed with a ruptured colon due to diverticulitis. I had already been out of work since June 13th because of the original rupture and was readmitted to the hospital on July 4th for a severe reaction to the medications they had me on. In early August just as I was supposed to return to work I had another rupture.

At that point my wife decided I needed to see a specialist to find out why this continued to happen and to determine if I needed surgery to remove the part of my colon. It was this specialist who after running several tests diagnosed me on 9/9 as having the advanced colon cancer. I was scheduled for a colon resection to remove the tumor for mid September but the surgeon found out 2 days before the surgery that the cancer was too large and too close to major arteries and nerves to remove.

This meant I would require chemotherapy to attempt to shrink the tumor first. Unfortunately as it was now completely blocking my colon and leading to the ruptures I had to have surgery to divert my colon to save my life instead of the originally planned surgery. I underwent 6 rounds of chemotherapy and in early February had the tumor removed. They have been unable to inspect the rest of my colon to make sure there isn’t more cancer further up and I will need to have further testing done after I have healed to see if I will need yet another resection. I have to complete another 6 rounds of chemo as well.

During all of this I have been unable to work and the company my wife worked for the past 15 years sold the business. With that change, our income took a further hit and while we will thankfully have insurance it will cover much less than our old policy. My doctors are now out of network and we are being advised that our share of the next surgery will be significant (potentially $11,000).

This of course does not include copays for the oncologist, surgeon, home health nurses or prescription drugs. We find ourselves in need of help, something we find hard to ask for but we don’t see another option. If all goes well, and the cancer does not metastasize elsewhere I will be out of work the majority of this year as well. We thank everyone who has helped and those who will. We are truly appreciative of any help you can provide.

Thank you,

Stephen Bodzenski and family

https://www.gofundme.com/c7-steves-cancer-fight