Connie Moyer is leading a fund-raising drive to help out Lance Mason, who will undergo a bone marrow transplant on Sept. 2.
Mason, 43, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer, on March 27. He is in the third stage of the disease.
He recently finished 12 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Moyer said. After the transplant surgery, he will spend three weeks in the hospital, and then he will be required to spend four to eight weeks in outpatient treatment, staying within 30 miles of the hospital at a cost of $50 per day.
That’s where donations are needed and appreciated, Moyer said. Insurance is covering most of the costs of the procedure.
Survival expectations improve to five years or more following the transplant procedure, Moyer said. Doctors estimate that Mason has had the disease for 12 to 18 months already, and predict about 29 months of survival if it is left untreated.
Multiople myeloma affects a type of white blood cell known as a plasma cell. Normally, the cells represent less than 5 percent of the total population of bone marrow cells. They fight infections, and when the infection is past, they become dormant. When cancerous, they continue to grow in an unregulated manner and spread to multiple bones, comprising 10 percent or more of marrow cells.
Mason has worked at Wah Chang for nine years. He is married to Bonnie Mason, who works at Santiam Variety Store (Santiam Drug).
Donations may be made in his name at Key Bank of Sweet Home.
“Thank you for all the thoughts, prayers and support they have received,” Moyer said.