Let's Battle Cancer

Richard and his son need Reckoners' help and a second opinion

Preston's son, who is 22, was diagnosed with another brain tumor last week.

You may wonder who is Preston. He's Richard here at the Reckoning. He uses his first name as his byline but a lot of people in South Arkansas know him as Preston. While he is my partner in the Reckoning, more importantly, he is my friend.

Greg's cancer battle is deeply personal to me. My mom passed away from lung cancer. Yes, she smoked so I will get that out of the way when I always say “lung cancer” the next question is inevitably, “Did she smoke?” Yes, until she was 63. She died at 85. Still, cancer is cancer. Greg is 22. He deserves to live a long life like my mom.

Saturday was our one-year anniversary of incorporating South Arkansas Reckoning. We have investigated and reported all over Arkansas. You can read them on the site. Many of you have subscribed and we are forever grateful.

Preston has done his Reckoning work — taking calls, listening to tips, investigating, sending FOIA requests, writing, etc. — while caring for Greg as a sole caregiver and dealing with a complex medical system. We all know this country’s medical care should be a lot easier to navigate than it is. In this case, it certainly should be more caring and professional than the treatment Preston and Greg have received since September 2022 when Greg's brain tumor was first diagnosed.

A story for another time.

Preston juggles so much on any given day. If you've ever been a caregiver, you know.

I've never seen a tighter bond between a parent and a child except between me and my mom.

I spent Friday with Preston and Greg as we traveled 120+ miles roundtrip to a doctor's appointment in Little Rock. That was the third time this week they've made that trip to Little Rock to see doctors. A lot of miles, a lot of stress, a lot of gas money.

Greg and I listened to a lot of music including Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Selena Gomez and more I don't remember. I know he does and I need to get that playlist. We made the best of a doctor's appointment and had a blast as Greg gave me the 411 on what the kids are into these days. I hate to admit it but I'm not 22 years old anymore.

⚠️ Preston needs help. The Reckoning is not a mainstream media outlet with a billionaire backer. We are not rolling in money. We need more paying subscribers but this isn't about trying to persuade you to subscribe. This is about saving a life.

Greg has an opportunity for an out-of-state cancer specialist to see him. He also knows a lot about Lynch Syndrome, which complicates his cancer treatment, to see him. Lynch Syndrome is more common than you think, too. One in 240 — some experts say 1 in 270 — has it. Think about your Facebook friend list. If you have 300 friends, one of them is likely to have it and does not know. Read our Lynch Syndrome story here.

Lynch Syndrome: A Personal Cancer Story

Seeing this cancer specialist as soon as possible is desperately needed as the new tumor may grow quickly.

That blessing of seeing a specialist 16 hours away comes with travel costs, food costs, lodging, etc. Preston and Greg are driving so car expenses, too. Cancer and caregiving can quickly wreck your world and deplete a family.

We've started a Go Fund Me. While we started this a couple of months ago for medical-associated costs for Greg, an urgency now exists as an expert is interested in seeing Greg in another state sooner rather than later.

A friend also thought of this: Gift cards for gas, food and expenses. We will take them. The Go Fund Me is linked on our Facebook. This link should work, too.

We appreciate each of you who have supported us, shared our work, emailed, and called us. Subscribing helps us, too, but the Go Fund Me is critical. If you cannot give, please share.

The Reckoning is not going away either. We're just getting going. ❤️