Nic Kelman Gamers vs. Cancer Fundraiser
In early 2013, just a few months after getting married, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Testicular cancer is relatively rare and for a 41 year-old, it is very unusual. Like most people, I thought the diagnosis was a death sentence and spent a pretty awful 24 hours or so thinking my time with my new wife, whom I felt blessed to have married, would be very short.
But then I learned from my first oncologist’s visit that the kind of testicular cancer I had was “pretty much the best cancer you can get.” This reassured me a good deal and I had the necessary orchiectomy a week or so later. I hoped that would be the end of it.
But 2 years later – this time just a few months after the birth of my first child – it returned, metastasizing to my lymph nodes.
This was both harder and more terrifying. Chances of survival remained excellent – among the best for any type of cancer – but I still couldn’t help wondering if my new son would grow up without a father. It was also going to be a longer road with months of chemo ahead of me.
I put my head down and got through it. My wife and friends were enormously supportive – people took turns to drive me to and from the chemo ward, my two best friends from college flew across the country to visit just to be there, and my wife’s mother came to help look after our newborn son. It was pretty amazing to have that network – especially when the chemo induced pretty regular late night visits to the ER for complications and my fear of dying would spike.
But to my surprise, my overwhelming emotion during this period was a sense of how lucky I was. Every day when I went to the chemo ward, I saw so many patients who were so much worse off than I was. Either because their prognosis was worse, or because they were deep into multiple rounds of chemo, or because it was clear the process was a financial strain. Or, in some cases, all of the above.
I was so grateful I “just” had stage 2 testicular cancer and the health insurance to deal with it.
But secondarily, I was also grateful for two other things. Classical music, which chemo finally made me learn about as I blocked out the sounds of the ward with headphones, and video games. I bought myself “Pillars of Eternity” at the start of my chemo and dove into it everyday as I sat in the chair on the drip.
A few months after I was declared clear, my wife’s mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and we spent 6 months away from home caring for her as she died.
After this, games came to my rescue once more. I had essentially spent 2 years dealing with cancer, unable to focus on work, and, as a freelancer, that was devastating to our family’s income – and our health insurance. But then Wizards of the Coast took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to get back on my feet – a chance for which I will always be grateful.
A couple of months ago, I passed my 5 years clear mark. And I wanted to mark the occasion with this fundraiser.
But specifically I wanted to mark it with a Gamers vs Cancer fundraiser focused on Health Equity.
Why Gamers vs Cancer? I am a gamer, and games helped me survive cancer – mentally, emotionally, and economically.
Why Health Equity? For years, as the chemo bills and subsequent check-up bills rolled in and I saw the tens of thousands of dollars my insurance was covering, it has been on my mind constantly how terrible it would be to have to deal with everything I dealt with and then have the stress of paying for it on top of that.
I remember quite clearly, the first day of chemo, even my (very good) insurance from the Writer’s Guild would not immediately cover the best anti-nausea medication. My doctor was required to “try” the not-so-good medication on me first. If it didn’t work, only then would he be allowed to prescribe the one everyone knew actually worked – but was something like $200 a pill.
That first night was one of the worst nights of my life. My wife genuinely thought I might die from the violence of how sick I was when the cheaper anti-nausea medication, to no one’s surprise, didn’t work.
I was put on the better medication the next day and, thankfully, it worked well enough. (I still can’t see the Pillars of Eternity logo without feeling nauseous or tasting metal). But just that one night made me think about what it would be like if I had worse insurance or, God Forbid, no insurance. What corners would I be forced to cut in my treatment? How would I pay for the corners that couldn’t be cut?
This is why I’d like this money to be earmarked specifically for the American Cancer Society’s Health Equity approaches. This is only more vital and important right now when so many people have lost their insurance and their livings thanks to the Covid pandemic.
Thank you for your time and, in advance, for any donation, you may be willing to give.
Fundraiser Link: charity.gofundme.com/nic-kelman-gamers-vs-cancer-fundraiser
Some important details:
1) Your donation to this page goes directly and immediately to the American Cancer Society. It does not flow through me nor do I need to end the fundraiser for the money to be transferred.
2) After raising $5,000, we will select one donor at random to receive a Gamers vs. Cancer prize pack (a t-shirt, tumbler, hoodie, and hat). If we surpass the $15,000 benchmark, another lucky donor will be drawn to receive a gaming chair!
3) Some information about the Health Equity program: “At the American Cancer Society, we’re on a mission to save lives, celebrate lives, and lead the fight for a world without cancer. Cancer is a disease that can affect anyone, but it doesn’t affect them equally. We believe no one should be disadvantaged in caring for their health because of how much money they make, the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their gender identity, their disability status, or where they live. Health equity is not a program but rather an approach through which we seek to improve cancer-related outcomes and eliminate cancer disparities. The American Cancer Society needs your support to fight for those in need so that we can continue to fund 55 multi-year extramural research grants totaling $46.2 million that are focused on health equity. Funding is also directed to ACS-led initiatives which build capacity and improve access to high quality healthcare in under-served communities.”