Please Help Support Our Dad in His Cancer Battle

Story

Hi everyone,

We’re reaching out with heavy hearts and hopeful spirits as our incredible dad begins the toughest fight of his life — a fight against a rare and highly aggressive form of bladder cancer.

It all started with something that didn’t seem serious: some pain and blood in his urine. After multiple doctor visits and tests, he was referred to a urologist who ordered a CT scan, which revealed a tumor in his bladder. A follow-up scope confirmed our fears—it was malignant and measured about 1.5 cm.

On April 29th, he had surgery to remove the tumor and send it to pathology for further evaluation. During the procedure, the doctor found that the tumor was much larger than expected, measuring nearly 6 cm and extending into the bladder wall. Despite this, we held on to hope. We knew it was likely at least stage 2, but we continued to pray that it was a low-grade tumor, meaning it was slow-growing and still confined to the bladder. As we waited for the pathology results, we remained hopeful for encouraging news.

Instead, on May 7th, we received a diagnosis that changed everything.

Dad not only has urothelial carcinoma in situ, a common but serious bladder cancer, but also small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, a rare and highly aggressive cancer that has already penetrated the bladder muscle. The words hit us like a freight train.

The good news: after extensive scans and bloodwork, doctors are confident the cancer has not yet metastasized elsewhere in his body. The difficult news: small cell cancer is notorious for spreading quickly, so the only option is an aggressive, exhausting treatment plan.

What’s Ahead:
4 rounds of intensive chemotherapy: 3 days of treatment, followed by 3 weeks off, repeated for several months
Constant monitoring through scopes, scans, and labs to track the progress of both cancers
At the end of treatment, doctors will remove his bladder and prostate in a major surgery, a life-changing procedure that will require time, strength, and healing

We’re holding on to hope. We trust his medical team. We believe in his strength.

But we also know that the road ahead is not just physically and emotionally overwhelming — it’s financially daunting.
Even with insurance, the out-of-pocket costs are staggering. Just one week of appointments, scans, and medication recently cost over 1,000, and this is only the beginning. The added financial stress is the last thing anyone should have to worry about while fighting for their life. But for our dad, it’s real. He would never ask for help — which is why we are.

How You Can Help:
We’re asking for your support to ease the financial burden of this journey so our dad can focus on what really matters: healing, fighting, and being with his family. Every dollar will go directly toward medical bills, prescriptions, transportation to appointments, recovery needs, and ongoing care.

Whether you’re able to give, share, or simply send prayers and love, we are deeply, deeply grateful.

Thank you for standing with us in this fight.
With love and hope,
Megan, Michael & Family

Organizers :

Megan Denk is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Deborah Smith.