The story on this page is about the events that led to the creation of Cancer Crisis Fund, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Houston, TX. This story is a depiction of events that occurred to one of the creators of this fund. Due to family’s request, the family name will not be shared. The story was written by his son, who is still an organizer and supporter of this non-profit organization. |
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The Story Behind Us
Our family’s cancer story, specifically my father’s cancer battle, started in the spring of 2008. Though the cancer was diagnosed/detected a few years earlier, spring of that year was when my father was told "You have cancer."
That spring, I was graduating from college in Nebraska. I wanted to make sure my parents attended my graduation since they didn’t have a chance to attend any of my previous graduations. They were living abroad and we could not afford to visit each other on regular basis as college had its own financial burdens on our family.
After much anticipation of seeing my parents again, my parents arrived to Nebraska. I immediately noticed red marks on my dad's face, specifically on his right cheek bone. In my gut I knew we needed to seek medical attention for this. Beginning with a general practitioner, we were referred to the Head & Neck department at the Nebraska Medical Center. And that’s where the hidden reality was uncovered.
My family and I were kindly welcomed by the staff and doctors of the department. After running various tests, we were told that spindle cell carcinoma was the red/purple mark on my father's face. He needed surgery soon as it was possible since the cancer was heading toward his brain. Unfortunately, we didn't have the money for the surgery. The doctors had already scheduled a surgery, but it had to be delayed due to lack of funds. That’s when family, friends, and even strangers helped us raise couple ta housand dollars, but it wasn’t enough. Unlike many others, we were fortunate because one of our family members decided to help us by putting their house as a collateral to receive a loan. We were truly fortunate and blessed.
In August 2008, my father had his surgery performed by amazing doctors and staff at the Nebraska Medical Center. We never doubted our doctors and staff and the surgery was a success, though my father had to lose his right eye, right cheek, part of his nose, and other parts/tissues of his face. The main thing was, he was alive. The kindness and professionalism of this medical center just cannot be expressed in this story.
Though this Head & Neck cancer was taken care of, there was already another cancer inside him – a lung cancer. Though it was hard to determine if the origins of these two cancers were linked, we knew there was another battle ahead of us. Due to the length, size, and location of this lung cancer, chemotherapy and radiation were the only options. Though they helped, neither was successful in shrinking the lung cancer for an extensive period of time. In spring 2010, my father succumbed to this nasty disease.
Sadly, this situation could have been easily avoided. Upon review of my father’s medical records in 2008 at the Nebraska Medical Center, it was determined that my father was diagnosed with cancer 3 years earlier, in Czech Republic. Unfortunately for my father, the doctors never told him about it. Instead, they tried a minor surgery and gave him creams to put on his face. As everybody knows, no cream treats cancer.
So, you might wonder how did this story lead to the creation of Cancer Crisis Fund? Well, when one of our families put their house as a collateral to save my father, they made a comment:“Money comes and goes, but human life doesn’t.” That made us think, and we decided to create an organization whose sole purpose is to financially assist those in need of help while educating people as well as medical personnel about cancer and its atrocious ways of destroying lives.
During our struggle, we contacted many organizations for financial help but except on 1 occasion, we were turned down as they use their donations for research purposes only. Thus, we want to be an organization that gives hope to those who need it. And thus, we need you! Please help us help others.
Thank you and we hope for your participation and contribution to the Cancer Crisis Fund.
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© Copyright 2016. Cancer Crisis Fund is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
home | about us | get involved | donate | resources | contact us
© Copyright 2016. Cancer Crisis Fund is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.