Cancer Fraud

The next few months began running together with school, sports and watching my step-dad become skinny while drinking coronas and smoking medicinal marijuana. The next notable change was when he was no longer there in the house.  Not from death but because of my moms growing suspicion that he might not even have cancer.   It had been 6 months, 1 massive family reunion of over 220 people, a 6 pack a day and countless bottles of “medicinal” marijuana, with the only physical change being significant weight loss. 

A few short months later he was back however, this time with no control of his bladder.  He could hardly walk to the bathroom so his son and my mom would either carry him to the bathroom or would have his pee jar at his bedside whenever he felt the urge to go. This was in November of 1999, just as my mom was set to open up the Pioneer House of Delaware for full time residential living for cerebral palsy patients, the first of its kind in the state of Delaware.  Christmas came and passed as we accepted the fact that it would be the last Christmas we all spent together as a family.  Little did I fully know how true that was.  In February of 2000, while I was at my dads on visitation and my step-brother was at his moms house, my mother was murdered by my step-father, who we quickly found out never had cancer and used it as a tool to stay with my mom and avoid the inevitable divorce. 

While Jonathan has not physically murdered anyone with his crimes, he has undoubtedly murdered the hopes and good trusting faith of the volunteer and philanthropic community in this great country.  He is not the first person to have done this scam as the disgraceful teacher in Michigan has proven, but he is the latest to abuse the good will of the non-profit serving community and to raise new doubts on how much we really are helping and if it really is the right people. 

However just as one bad apple can ruin a batch, one ray of sunshine can brighten any cloudy day.  For those in the cancer field, look at Lance Armstrong or Sean Swarner and everything they have not only overcome but have achieved in the field of competition and cancer research and help.