As many know, our dad Carl was diagnosed with cancer back in mid November while also battling kidney issues.

When things first started out it just an annoying pain in his back which was thought to maybe be arthritis or some other pain that came with age. Slowly it was bothering him a little more to the point where he was not doing his normal everyday things because it was getting to be too painful. 

At that point we went in to the doctor and asked if there were some tests to see if there was a slipped disk or maybe his hips were having an issue. X-Rays came back good, so they did a few other scans. After results came back, we got the call nobody wanted to hear. There was a mass on his spine and that is a common place for certain cancers to form.

So off the Rochester he went. He was then diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. After that it has been nothing but poking and prodding to test blood, bone marrow, prostate etc to see if the cancer had spread to any other places. 

Things seemed to be contained to that area, so the next step was radiation. He did the first 15 radiation appointments and then it was the waiting game of pain management and rest while the radiation continued to work on the cancer. After 2 months he was not really feeling any better and got an appointment to see the doctors again. 

This time they came to the conclusion that things may have moved as scans showed some small spots on his rib and possibly a spot on the other side of the spine. They are just getting started on chemotherapy now to attack the cancer.

They have had to travel to Rochester and Mankato countless times for these appointments, tests and treatments. With the new chemo treatment, gas, hotel expenses and time off work, the expenses keep piling up. We are hoping to raise money to help relieve some of the financial stress so he can focus solely on healing.