31 year old Matthew Whitworth of Cole Camp, has been diagnosed with three different diseases…lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and squamous cell carcinoma — a form of cancer that has struck the lymph nodes in his groin area.
Whitworth has undergone 30 radiation treatments and two rounds of chemotherapy at Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute in Kansas City, most recently in March. His treatments weaken him to the point that it is “really challenging to get out of bed,” he said.
Whitworth’s medical expenses stand at more than $56,000 and continue to rise. Tomorrow, the Cole Camp community is holding a freewill offering baked potato luncheon to raise funds for Whitworth, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with takeout orders available beginning at 9 a.m., at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 205 W. Jefferson St. in Cole Camp.
Whitworth was diagnosed with lupus in 1996. On Nov. 21, 2011, he was diagnosed with cancer, which currently is in Stage 3B.
He goes back for a checkup on April 17.
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