I am running the Lincoln half marathon again this May, but this year it's for a cause very dear to my family. My dad was diagnosed with GIST cancer in March 2017. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a rare cancer affecting the digestive tract of nearby structures within the abdomen. GIST is so uncommon that even the American Cancer Society doesn't have a fund for it. A current estimate for the total number of people diagnosed with GIST in the U.S. is around 4,500 a year. This cancer has no known cure; and is considered terminal. GIST is very unpredictable cancer, and its treatments are very new. One GIST case is not the same as the next.
My dad has wild-type GIST, which is the rarest form of this already rare cancer. Oral chemo couldn't stop the tumor from growing to a near basketball size in just 5 months. After an incomplete removal of this monstrous tumor in August 2017, my dad was hospitalized from that day in August until right before Christmas. On February 13, 2018 his scans came back to show five more tumors have grown and now has a 6-12 month prognosis.
It is so important to me to raise money to further research for this cancer both for my dad and for all those suffering from this horrible disease. I would greatly appreciate all donations and thank you in advance!