Some of you might know that Gunner had a couple of severe heart attacks back in May. During his hospital stay, they did scans that revealed an odd mass on his kidney. After having it biopsied in August, it was determined that he has an extremely rare, extremely aggressive, untreatable cancer called "Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma." Since he had stents put in from his cardiac episodes, the doctors advised him to change his diet, get good sleep, exercise well, and come back in for new scans.

During the last few months, Gunner had consultations with sarcoma specialists at U of M hospital in Ann Arbor. They explained that this cancer is so rare that there isn't much research on it. Chemo doesn't usually work well, and radiation is not an option given the location of his tumor. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts at clean eating, juicing, and natural supplementation, the most recent MRI results show that his tumor grew to nearly double in size, about the width of a man's hand (20 cm by 10 cm).

Gunner and Maria met with the sarcoma team on October 1st, and the prognosis was grim. Optimistically, given the aggressive rate that his tumor is growing, it will likely metastasize to his lungs and liver within 2 years, which is the point patients typically go to hospice. It's possible they could buy him a couple more years by surgically resecting the tumor (removing it) but it's attached to several organs. Surgery would have to include removing his left kidney, his adrenal gland, his spleen, most of his pancreas, his entire stomach, part of his descending colon, and part of his esophagus. He would be an instant diabetic, and would need a feeding tube for several months with daily digestive enzymes in order to take in and absorb nutrients.

Maria, who has worked full time since she graduated high school, has always had employer paid insurance that she paid into without ever needing it. For 35 years she rarely used that insurance. But back in January she accepted a full-time job with a small family owned company that assists clients with obtaining their Italian Dual Citizenship. She's their primary genealogist and sales person who advises individuals on their eligibility for citizenship via jure sanguinis (blood right). She loves her job, but it didn't offer health insurance. Repeated attempts at trying to get Gunner on Medicaid have been unsuccessful, and the U.S. government "Affordable Care Health options" did not allow them to obtain insurance until the open enrollment period in November 2025 for a January 2026 start date.

During these last 10 months of having no insurance, Gunner had two heart attacks and a cancer diagnosis. He will begin chemo the second week of October while they wait for him to safely be taken off blood thinners in the event he decides to move forward with surgery. The sarcoma team is not optimistic about the chemotherapy, since this cancer usually does not respond well to it. But it's something to try while they wait for the decision about surgery.

They now have two very big decisions to make: have the surgery which would give him a bit more time, but a severely reduced quality of life-- and whether or not Maria should reduce her hours to make less than the required $25K per year so that Gunner can get his future medical bills, treatments, and surgery paid for. Either way, bankruptcy is a likely necessity for past medical bills, and copays for Gunner's upcoming chemo treatments are in the thousands. 

Their deep Christian faith surrounds them with peace, strength, and a church family to lean on. They know that with God, all things are possible. Gunner is in the fight of his life, and I am humbly asking that if you are able, help this couple out with a generous donation, or at the very least, prayers for hope and healing. Gunner is a talented writer, entrepreneur, and outdoorsman who has a lot of life left in him. He's lived a hard life serving 13 years of prison, but he refuses to allow his fairy tale ending become a Greek tragedy. Together he and Maria will continue to make hard decisions and live their best lives possible together until God calls Gunner home.

Gunner is one of my best friends, and he and Maria have been through so much these last two decades. As they say, "Love conquers all." But prayers and generous friends can help them conquer, too. Thank you for helping. -- William (Bill) Crooks

More about "Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma"--

Retroperitoneal dedifferentiated liposarcoma is a rare, aggressive malignancy, characterized by high rates of recurrences and the potential for metastasis. DDLPS is associated with a dismal oncological outcome due to its aggressive behavior, high rates of recurrences, and resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments.