Your share could raise $30
Before you go, did you know that simply by sharing this campaign, you could help it raise $30? It's an effective way to support the cause.
No thanks- Pin it
- SubscribeUnsubscribe
- Embed
Evie Troutman hasn't added a story.
GoFundMe: gf.me/u/xmgawc
Josh Farnam is a loving husband to his wife Kara and dedicated father of two little boys - Knightley (5 years old) and Montana (3 years old). He is a small business owner near Pittsburgh PA and is now a brain cancer patient at Cleveland Clinic. Battling cancer though is not new to Josh. He was diagnosed back in 2015 with Grade III Anaplastic Astrocytoma - a malignant cancer that is almost guaranteed to return every 2-10 years. Josh was in remission for 4 years, with clean CT and MRIs but he had a grand mal seizure early February (2020). He was rushed to the hospital by ambulance where he was immediately admitted. After days of multiple EEG, CT and MRIs, Josh and Kara were told that his cancer was back (recurring) even though Josh had a clean CT scan 6 weeks prior. Josh’s results showed that the recurrence is directly off of the previously infected area and is coming back in two spots. After reviewing this information with Josh and Kara, their oncologist asked if she could send Josh’s results and scans to Cleveland Clinic because there were 2 clinical trials that Josh could be eligible for. One is for Grade IV Polio brain cancer clinical trial and the other is for Grade III brain cancer, where they combine chemotherapy and a specific new drug.
Details were sent to Cleveland Clinic that very day and Josh already had his initial consultation with Cleveland Clinic and passed all of the neurological requirements for the trials. Cleveland Clinic wants to wait 3 - 4 weeks to do a new MRI and compare the results with the MRI done the second week of February. This will give Cleveland Clinic an idea on how aggressive the growth is (Grade III or IV) and also give them a better idea on where they should do a large biopsy. The biopsy will take place one week after the MRI but this will be much more than your normal biopsy. They will do a biopsy and a pathologist in the operating room will evaluate the biopsy under a microscope - right then and there. The team will immediately decide what action to take, based off of what the results say. All of this will occur in a short time frame. If the biopsy is a Grade III, they will immediately do the full resection on an intraoperative MRI followed by Grade III chemotherapy and a specific new drug. If the biopsy is a Grade IV, they will put a catheter in Josh’s head at the biopsy site and the polio virus will drip into his head for 6 hours.
No matter the outcome, surgery will take place in the next 4-5 weeks and it cannot be delayed. If Josh did not qualify for the clinical trials, he would have had the resection already - his condition is very serious.
Family Needs:
Due to everything that is going on, Josh and Kara have had to put their businesses on hold - their main source of income. Travel expenses between Cleveland Clinic (3 hours away), hotel accommodations and everything else that normally occurs is not covered by insurance.. Cleveland Clinic Billing Department has also informed them that 20% of clinical trial cost might be paid out of pocket. Josh’s last surgery cost around 180k which was covered by insurance but since they live in Pennsylvania and not Ohio, 20% of the coverage does not cross state lines.
Kara and Josh are unable to work at this time and are anticipating a large medical bill. Please consider helping this young family during this scary time of need. Any amount is appreciated more than you could ever know. Please share, and prayers are appreciated!!
Note: If you are able to write a personal check, the money ALL
goes to Josh & Kara, rather than this site keeping a fee to run
this. If you want to give that way, please let us know so we can
give out their address privately.
If you live in the Pittsburgh Area and would like to make a meal for them, please go to https://mealtrain.com/rwv287. Please see the instructions section, since Josh has to be on a special diet.
Kara and Josh also do not have a working microwave (broke) and
their new house does not have a dishwasher. These have been on their
to do list but now the extra work is too much for them. Evie is
trying to get something set up, so they can get these items
installed for them. Let her know if you are interested in helping.
Highlights
See all activity9Activity
Delete media item?
Delete this item from the media gallery? It will also be deleted from any related story update.
Set as ?
The campaign video will appear in social media and email.
The campaign cover picture will appear in social media and email.
The will appear at the top of your campaign page and in social media and email.
Reset ?
It will be removed from the top of your campaign and won't be used as default in social media and email. The will remain in the media gallery.
Embed
Share a link
Delete update
Delete this story update?
Any pictures or videos will remain in the campaign's media gallery.
Report campaign
Report submitted
Thank you. We take reports like yours very seriously. Our goal is to keep the community safe.
Please know that we may contact you for more information, but that we won't notify you personally of our decision. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Thank you. We've already received your previous report. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Tell us about the problem. Please fill in both fields below.
Record a video
Upload a video
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Take a minute or two to record one now. Record a short video message of support. Or upload one from your device. You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Upload a short video message of support. Upload a short video message of support. Or record one right now.
- Most effective video length: about a minute.
- Maximum length: 5 min.
- You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Heads up! The existing video will be replaced.
Email your friends
Join our team
Tell people why our cause matters to you. Your personal message will encourage others to help. Easy, effective, optional.
Say it in video
Short personal videos by supporters like you are incredibly powerful. Record one right now and you'll help us raise more money. Easy, optional, effective.
Add a personal goal
Set a personal fundraising goal. You'll encourage more contributions if you do. And rest easy. There's no obligation to achieve your goal or bad consequences if you don't. Easy, optional, effective.
We have a video!
Video thumbnail
We'd love to show you our campaign video. Want to take a look?
, you're already on the team.