This is the story of a Houston-based barber named Marco Muñoz, who was diagnosed with gastric cancer requiring chemotherapy otherwise cancer will spread quickly throughout his body, and who has no medical insurance. Marco is a friendly, humble, kind, generous, creative, loving, human from Guatemala, who loves his work because it connects him to other humans, who is quite compassionate for children and elders, and who despite the challenges that he faces in life, he always has a happy and positive attitude and a big smile. His diagnosis in late May 2024 was rather a surprise, in just a blink of an eye, his world changed entirely. We are grateful that on June 6th he was admitted to MD Anderson Cancer Hospital, although we didn’t expect that at the very first appointment, he would be required to stay hospitalized in the Acute Cancer Center! He was suffering from a gastrointestinal hemorrhage threatening his life; he received a blood transfusion and was given various medicaments until he was stabilized. Five days later, he was discharged on June 10th, with a diagnosis of stage 4 adenocarcinoma gastric cancer metastasized in the lining of his stomach, having started a 10-session radiation treatment to stop the hemorrhage, and facing the crudest uncertainty of life. On June 15th we met his awesome oncologist and team, who provided us the news that he would require ‘Life on Chemotherapy’, pretty much chemo the rest of his life. On July 3rd, Marco was given his chemo treatment plan, to be administered every 2 weeks; and he was also given a prognosis of 11 to 16 months life expectancy if receiving chemotherapy, or no more than 6 months if not receiving chemotherapy! Marco received his first chemotherapy on July 5th, after his hemorrhage had successfully been stopped. He suffered from some of the chemo secondary effects, but Marco was fully trusted in the positive results it would deliver. In the middle of the chaos, he forgot his medical insurance was short-term insurance; the 3-year coverage was terminated on July 10th, with no opportunity to extend. Marco was devasted and hopeless, with no insurance and no idea how an honest and serving immigrant in the U.S. would navigate this life/death situation. We are seeking eligibility for other medical insurance, financial assistance from MD Anderson, and exploring other options to reinstate his medical treatment, but this can take some weeks, and to avoid disruption of Marco’s treatment, we opened this LFEBridge account so Marco can have access to the next 4 chemotherapies and have a fighting chance. If Marco cannot receive his chemotherapy, the cancer will continue to spread at a very fast rate and metastasize throughout his body. Marco continues to work at the Old School Barbershop not only to support himself but to find inspiration and reasons for fighting, and he is deeply grateful for your support. All the donations will be used for the next 4 chemotherapies, each chemo is approximately $30K. Thank you for your support and for sharing Marco’s story with others. Thank you from Marco: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=marco+the+barber
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