GoFundMe underway for National Guardsman with Mt. Pleasant unit battling cancer

A fundraiser is underway to help a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard based in Mt. Pleasant who is in a Seattle area hospital battling cancer that was diagnosed a year ago.

“I’m really thankful for the support I have received,” Johnstown native Andrew Wilcox, 28, said after undergoing stem cell transplant Monday at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health System. The hospital is one of three hospitals in the VA healthsystem nationwide that specializes in stem cell transplants, according to its website.

Wilcox, a sergeant in the Army National Guard’s Headquarters Co.-1 1th0 Infantry in Mt, Pleasant, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of testicular cancer in April 2019 and has been undergoing treatments. The cancer had metastasized to his lungs, liver and lymph nodes in his upper body.

Wilcox, who was with the unit when it deployed to Jordan in 2016-2017, has got the backing of his fellow members of the Headquarters Co., including Michael Murphy, 31, of North Huntingdon.

“I’ve always thought of our platoon as a family. Even though my contract finished in 2016, the news of Andrew’s current situation is devastating to myself and anyone who knows him,” said Murphy, who is no longer in the National Guard.

Wilcox, a University of Pittsburgh graduate, moved to Denver in September 2018 with the intention of earning his master’s degree at the University of Colorado, Murphy said. But, the cancer was diagnosed, requiring him to undergo four rounds of chemotherapy and lymph node dissection surgery in October. By December, doctors found the cancer was regrowing in his lungs and suspicious spots appeared on his spine, so he traveled to Seattle in late January for high-dose chemotherapy. Doctors discovered tumors in his brain were growing rapidly, prompting emergency brain surgery in late February.

He will remain in Seattle for at least another month of hospitalization and follow up before returning home, Murphy said.

Wilcox said he is hoping to return to Denver and earn his master’s degree once he recovers.

Through all of the devastating news and setbacks, Wilcox remains hopeful. When doctors told Wilcox his odds of survival were not good after a recent surgery, he replied, “I’m Andrew Wilcox, and those numbers don’t mean anything,” Murphy said.

Family and friends have stepped up to help Wilcox, who needs a daily caregiver. A GoFundMe account has been set up, asking people to be part of “Andy’s Army.” The goal is to raise at least $20,000, hopefully more. So far, more than $15,450 has been pledged as of April 1.

“I will be unable to return to work for 6-12 months, depending on my strength and illness progression,” Wilcox wrote on his GoFundMe page, gofundme.com/f/want-to-help-out-until-i-am-back-on-my-feet.