Celebrating a Milestone and Preparing for the Road Ahead
Salutations, friends!
It feels good to be back. For those who missed it, I published a dispatch last week that included a health update and reflections on my recent trip to New York with Satya Rose.
With any luck, this email will be substantially shorter ; )
Warning, though: in this post, I write about money, including the healthcare costs I've faced since this cancer journey began and the basis for recently increasing my fundraiser's campaign goal. And I ask for donations here, too. Please note that, if you are unable to contribute, no apologies are necessary!
I've had a few friends write to say sorry because they are strapped for cash or otherwise unable to give at the moment, and it's truly all good. These invitations to help out are truly nonviolent and I never expect a thing! If you're not trying to hear my occasional updates peppered with "donate" links, you are always welcome to unsubscribe using the link below — or, y'know, you can continue to hang out, be a friend, follow my journey, and stay tuned for the exciting offerings I'll be unleashing here soon : )
My primary goal today is to celebrate the achievement of the initial goal of my healing fundraiser. (Hooray!) I feel deep and ongoing gratitude for the waves of support that have come in, and this feels like a really important milestone we just reached together. So thank you!
My secondary goal today is to announce that, at the encouragement of several loved ones, I’ve consented to increasing the campaign's goal. This is to account for the immediate hole I ended up in once disability payments stopped, and to set myself up for success in facing upcoming out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
Having just begun a new year, I am facing a new $5,000 healthcare deductible, which I expect to hit pretty soon, as the CT scan I'll be getting later this month alone will cost nearly $4k. I plan to return to work over the the next couple of months, which will cover my general living expenses — but healthcare costs remain (at least until the revolution) pretty astronomical. Will you continue to support my healing?
By all means, health comes first, and my most fervent aim remains emerging victorious from this year in the trenches. As I emerge, however, I desire to do so in something other than poverty.
Even with the prayed-for result of a clean CT scan and No Evidence of Disease later this month, the recommended path forward will be continued surveillance: another scan in 3 months, another 6 months after that, continued annual scans, and ongoing bloodwork (first monthly, then seasonally) until I am declared “cured” in five years’ time. My heart's deire!
But until we get the kind of universal health care enjoyed by most civilized countries out there, I’ll be paying an annual $5,000 minimum just to keep tabs on my remission.
I also hope to continue the complementary health care that will keep me cancer-free. My naturopathic team has recommended that, once remission is official, I should plan on taking most of my supplements for another year or so. And, of course, I intend to maintain my increasingly pure diet and healthy lifestyle changes ad infinitum.
Which is all to say that, even in the best possible scenario, we’ve only just begun.
Would you be willing to make a contribution today — or, just as valuably, share this healing fundraiser with those in your circle who might like to join us?
In the spirit of appreciating the powerful contributions that have resulted in the achievement of this campaign's initial goal — and in the spirit of accountability around how I have utilized the funds and why I'm asking for more help this year — I wrote the following update to the crowdfunding campaign my friend started last summer.
Loved Ones,
As you know, this last year has been the most difficult of my life. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer in January of 2021 and underwent a mass-removal surgery right away. After the cancer recurred last summer, I went through three brutal rounds of chemo, from which I continue to recover. Now, I am bouncing back, starting to feel good again, and looking ahead to create a sustainable path of recovery (that I’ll also be able to cover financially).
Your contributions to this crowdfunding campaign have truly been a lifeline, and have made the all difference in the world — the difference between being able to pay my bills and going into debt; the difference between being able to afford complementary treatments and suffering without them; potentially the difference between life and death.
I cannot thank you enough.
As a way of expressing gratitude for all the amazing support and making this campaign as transparent as possible, I wanted to share a quick update shining a light on all we’ve been able to accomplish together over the last several months. Thanks as always for your continued support and for sharing this opportunity with others!
Thanks to funds raised here…
— I was able to afford the costly initial plunge into treatment-related healthcare costs from my dance with cancer in 2021, including three difficult rounds of chemotherapy, several costly CT scans, two trips to the ER, and countless doctor visits and blood tests. ($5,000 spent on 2021 healthcare deductible, $5,000 for 2022 healthcare deductible, and an additional $2,000+ in unexpected tests and oncology services not covered by my insurance).
*And*
— I had the funds needed to opt for the alternative and complementary healing support that I believe has made the biggest difference in my successful effort to overcome this major health crisis, including...
Consultations with very helpful naturopathic doctors (around $1,000 for each initial consultation with two separate doctors, plus a number of follow-up visits),
IV infusions of vitamins C and B, ozone and glutathione at least twice a month ($200-$500 per visit),
Effective (but expensive) supplements including high-dose curcumin, turkey tail mushroom, artemisinin, fish oil, broccoli extract, liver support formula, probiotics, and several more (over $100/week),
Acupuncture, moxibustion and cupping treatments with a skilled local practitioner ($85/visit — weekly at first, now biweekly, soon to be monthly),
A Traditional Chinese Medicine tea that I brew at home with specially formulated ancient healing herbs ($50/week),
Healing sessions with massage therapists, including those specializing in lymphatic drainage and deep energy work (around $250 for a couple of sessions each month),
Several sessions of frequency-specific microcurrent therapy in the initial months after chemo ($900 in total),
Detoxifying colon hydrotherapy sessions (around five visits at $135 each),
Participation in a weeklong indigenous healing ceremony with South American healers ($1,300 donation, with another ceremony planned for April),
Monthly trips to nearby hot springs and travel to other healing retreats (around another $1,000 total),
Oral surgery to remove my failed root canal and ultimately replace with a dental implant (over $2,500 so far, with another $3,000+ expense planned in the near future to complete the process),
Gym membership ($300/year),
And much, much more!
*Plus*
— I was able to stay afloat financially and keep my rent and utilities paid through my summer of treatment and the subsequent months of recovery. (Rent: $1,800/month, plus utilities like internet and electricity).
— I’ve been able to continue eating fresh, healthy, organic food and preparing green juice daily at home ($500/month), and
— I’ve also been able to provide for my daughter, not only in terms of basic necessities like food and shelter, but also a couple of sweet trips together to places like snowy Mount Shasta and New York City. ($1,500 total)
*Additionally*
— Donations here have helped pay for web hosting for www.nilspalsson.org along with the monthly cost of maintaining my email newsletter, both of which have been essential to my self-expression and healing! And,
— I’ve been able to continue my practice of tithing and charitable contributions, with a portion of all proceeds here going to powerful and inspirational nonprofits, from the American Cancer Society and Doctors without Borders to DemocracyNow! and the Movement for Black Lives. Read more here: https://nilspalsson.org/giving-guide
If one were to add this all up, it would be clear that this cancer journey has already cost me in excess of this campaign’s new $50,000 goal. Which is why (after some amount of urging from my friends and loved ones), I’ve consented to expand this campaign’s goal to cover the mountainous costs of recovery.
Through the course of my treatment and healing, I’ve been fortunate to have some additional support in the form of a few small grants, scholarships, and donations made outside of this campaign. And I am super thankful for it all!
And yet, while I have managed to avoid plunging deeply in debt through this experience, I have also had to utterly deplete my savings — both the emergency rent fund I had socked away, and the nearly $8,000 nest egg I had built up to go toward my dream of someday buying a family home for me and Satya. In terms of savings, this dance with cancer has been a pretty devastating setback.
Of course, I have the best gift of all — the gift of life itself! — and as long as I have this gift, I’ll do my best not to complain.
AND — it sure will be nice to overcome these setbacks and start saving again!
It all starts here, as I move to cover this year’s medical costs and prepare my bank account to weather the coming seasons of surveillance and continued healthy living.
This year I’ve learned, painfully and slowly, the power of asking for and accepting social support. It was hard for me to ask for assistance this summer, when I was bald-headed and slumped down in a chemo chair — and it is even harder for me to ask for help now that I am again hairy and able to lift heavy objects. But it feels more important now than ever that I humble myself and ask for the help that I need.
Would you be willing to continue to support my healing?
Your donations of any amount (and shares on social media!) are incredibly supportive, caring, and encouraging. They make a tremendous difference in my day-to-day experience of healing. And they are an incredibly powerful engine to drive forward my continued robust recovery.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
Kindest blessings to you and your loved ones — now and forever!
Yours in community, love and light,
Nils
