A few weeks ago, I asked people here to help a dear friend's father fight cancer. Today I come back with good news: the word is that the chemotherapy is working, and that his tumors are shrinking.
Almost as importantly, and thanks in part to your contributions, Nicole has raised a couple thousand dollars for her father's ongoing treatment. But that's only enough to pay the costs of his treatment for the next few weeks, let alone the months or years that he'll need.
For those who don't know, small cell cancer is an extremely aggressive and lethal form. Many nonprofit organizations that help fund cancer victims won't do anything for those with small cell cancer, because other types of cancer are easier and less costly to "cure," so they'd rather spend their limited resources there.
All this means that small-cell cancer is usually treated as a death sentence. I know what you're all thinking--I'm thinking the same thing, that it's utterly shameful that this situation should arise where someone's life can be ransomed over their ability to pay for treatment. But this isn't about that--it's about keeping Nicole's father alive.
Nicole has set up a website for her fundraising drive, where you can see the people that you're helping--and gain an understanding of how hard it is for her to imagine losing her father less than a year after the death of her younger brother at the age of 21. Please visit, and if you can spare the money, make a donation. I know as well as anyone that money is tight right now, but nothing compares to the life of one good person.
http://billbarryfightscancer.weebly.com/