Mikes Cancer Battle

In May of 2018, Mike was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer, called Chordoma.  This type of cancer grows along the spine, typically found at the base, under the skull.  Mike’s form grows at the end of the spine, affecting his lower vertebrae.  Mike had to have an extremely aggressive surgery to remove most of the tumor - performed at Roswell, which was then followed up with radiation therapy at NIH.  During all of his testing, he was also found to have a heart condition, which required major surgery In November 2018.  After he healed from this, he was able to begin cancer treatment again.  Because this type of cancer is so tough to treat, he has been undergoing chemotherapy since October 2019.  This cancer lasts a lifetime, and has caused Mike to become permanently disabled; unable to work.  As you can imagine, battling this cancer causes an extreme financial struggle, and not being able to work has added unnecessary stress on top of an already extremely stressful situation.  


Cancer can really disrupt someone’s life, but through all of this, Mike has remained strong and is always able to laugh, even after a hard day.