The Starkville community is coming together to support Brad Massey, a 42-year-old detective with the Mississippi State University Police Department, in his battle against stage-four colon cancer.
The MSU Police Department, Starkville Police Department, Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Department and Mississippi Highway Patrol have joined forces to host a raffle to raise money for Massey's cancer treatment.
"He's got some astronomical medical expenses right now," Sheriff Steve Gladney said. "We wanted to all pitch together to help him and his family in their time of need."
Tickets for the raffle cost $100 and can be purchased from OKSD, SPD and MSUPD. Four hundred tickets are available, and the winner of the raffle will win $10,000. Gladney said the rest of the money raised will go toward Massey's medical expenses.
The raffle drawing will take place April 17.
"He certainly didn't ask us to do this," Gladney said. "We just wanted to help out."
Along with the raffle, owner of Book Mart and Cafe Carolyn Abadie set up an account at Cadence Bank in downtown Starkville. Donations can be made to Brad Massey's medical expenses.
Abadie said she is also going to put a donation jar for the family at Book Mart and Cafe.
Donations can also be given through a GoFundMe set up for Massey at www.gofundme.com/supportbradmassey
MSU Police Chief Vance Rice said Massey is a 17-year veteran of the police force. He has worked his way up from patrol to investigations, and he has happily assisted the city and county departments on many occasions.
"It's been almost a year and a half since I found out in November of 2016 the news that it spread to the liver and the lungs, and it has been a journey from there," Massey said.
Massey's wife, Lindsey Massey, began doing research on alternative cancer treatments besides chemotherapy, and learned of the Chipsa Cancer Clinic in Tiajuana, Mexico, through a friend who also had stage-four cancer and was able to successfully treat it through Chipsa.
"It is a wonderful place and he loved it," Lindsey Massey said. "He went for three weeks and got really good results, and then he came home and continued the treatments."
Traditional chemotherapy treatments didn't work for Massey, but he has had successful results from Chipsa treatments. The natural treatment at Chipsa activates the body's ability to heal itself through an organic, plant-based diet, raw juices, coffee enemas and natural supplements. Chipsa also uses new, experimental medicine and low doses of targeted chemotherapy directly into affected areas.
"The expense of that is huge, but regular chemo just isn't cutting it," Rice said. Linsdey Massey said Brad Massey also visits Dr. Julien Hill every two weeks at the North Mississippi Medical Center oncology center for additional treatments, and Hill is happy with the results Massey is seeing with the Chipsa treatments.
The Massey's insurance doesn't cover the treatments from Chipsa, and the burden of treatments, travel expenses and the other day-to-day bills and expenses are all out of pocket for the Massey family, Lindsey Massey said.
"Cancer, no matter what route you take, is expensive," Lindsey Massey said. "Nobody can afford it on their own, and life still continues. I think a lot of people think, now that's all we have to pay for, but no, that's not how it works."
The next step in Brad Massey's treatment is to return to Chipsa for three weeks for more intense treatment. He will then be able to return home and continue treatments, and then later travel back to Chipsa two more times for shorter periods of time.
"That's the next route, and it’s really the last option we have," Lindsey Massey said. "If we cut it off now, we're really at the end of our rope."
Lindsey Massey said the raffle and account at Cadence Bank is an exciting surprise for her family.
"Anything donation-wise is great," Brad Massey said. "I'm very appreciative. I'm not a person that asks for help, but at this point in time, I do need people's help to continue on the treatment process."
Lindsey Massey said the anxiety financial burden of treatment makes getting healthy even more difficult.
"It means a lot to our family that people are out there supporting us in any way that they can," Brad Massey said. "I'm not at the point now where I want to give up on this fight. They are helping me continue this fight."