Welcome to the team page of:
Geoff's Soldiers

Geoff's Soldiers Relay in honour of Geoff Mangus and because we want to see an end to cancer during our lifetime. Geoff's Soldiers is a family and friend team that joined together to raise money for Relay for Life to Fight the War on Cancer! 

Geoff  is a captain in the US Army. He was deployed to Iraq for 13 months in 2005-2006. Halfway through his tour, Geoff began to have intestinal problems. When he returned to the states at the end of his tour, Geoff sought medical attention.

From 2006-2008, Geoff underwent  many test. But the doctors, could not find anything wrong. They told Geoff that he would have to live with the problems. A couple of months later, only a few months before Geoff would deploy to Iraq again, Geoff had a pancreatic attack. The doctors decided to do an MRI of his chest. They saw little spots in his lungs. Then decided to do a MRI of the neck. This is when they discovered tumors in his neck. After a biopsy was done, they came to the conclusion that Geoff had a very rare form of thyroid cancer called Medullary Thyroid Cancer. Geoff needed to have his total thyroid, the left para-thyroid, glands, lymphnodes and some muscle removed.

After recovery, we went to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL to talk with the Oncology doctors. They did their own MRIs and CTs. The left side of his neck where the surgery was done looked great. They told us that Geoff's cancer was already in stage 4. Geoff had a small tumor on the right side of his neck, a 2 cm tumor in the upper chest, the spots in the lungs were still there and some spots in the bone of the spine. The doctor told us that if we came with Medullary Thyroid Cancer 3 years prior that there were no treatments and no studies for it.Very little was known.  Also that Chemo and Radiation would not react with this type of cancer. So,  we were told about an experimental treatment that had been going on that Geoff qualified for.

Geoff began the treatment in September 2008. We make a trip to the Mayo Clinic every 28 days for 2-5 days at a time. So far, the cancer levels (measured by bloodwork) are going down. Every other month, along with the bloodwork, Geoff has MRIs and CTs of the chest and neck. They measure the tumors and then compare the new measurements to the month before and Sept. 2008's MRI and CTs. Praise God, the tumors are stable.

This experimental treatment as well as others would not be available without research. Making a donation to Relay For Life: Amercian Cancer Society allows research and treatments to be available. Please join us or make a donation to our team and help Fight the War on Cancer! By supporting our team, you will be a part of a life-changing event that celebrates the lives of those who have battled cancer, remembers loved ones lost, and empowers all of us to fight back against a disease that takes too much.

When you donate online you can make a one-time gift, or mail a check made out to American Cancer Society (contact me about how to do this)! Your efforts will help the American Cancer Society fund groundbreaking cancer research, provide up-to-date cancer information, advocate for all people to have access to screening and treatment, and offer free programs and services to improve the quality of life for people facing cancer. By being a part of Relay, we are joining a worldwide movement to help defeat cancer for future generations. Our Relay day will be April 30, 2010 . Thank you so much for your gracious donations!

God Bless, 

 Geoff's Soldiers: Relay For Life Team