Could a New Treatment Plan Give Jacoby More Time With His Three Sons?

 For Jacoby, what began as worsening back pain seemed at first like an injury that might keep him away from work for a while. Instead, the explanation he received changed the future of his family, including that of a baby boy, Avery, who was only two months old when the illness entered their lives. His sister, Avian, is now publicly sharing the family's difficult search for another way forward.

The pain eventually became so severe that Jacoby could no longer work. Doctors initially diagnosed him with stage 4 melanoma, telling the family that the cancer had spread to several parts of his body. According to the account shared by his family, it had reached his spine, lungs and femur, where the disease weakened the bone until it fractured. What had seemed like a back problem was now a life-threatening diagnosis.

The damage to his bones required significant medical procedures. Surgeons placed rods to stabilize his spine and leg, but his condition continued to deteriorate despite those efforts. He eventually became bedridden and needed a wheelchair, leaving his relatives to confront how quickly his health and daily life had changed. With a young family depending on him, they were unwilling to accept that the first diagnosis and treatment plan represented the only possible path.

They sought another opinion at Stanford in California, hoping specialists there might clarify the diagnosis or identify other possible options. Instead, the family says they learned that Jacoby did not have melanoma. The cancer was identified as a metastatic melanotic nerve sheath tumor, an ultra-rare disease that they say has been difficult to research because so little information is readily available. The discovery meant that for four months he had been receiving treatment for a cancer he did not actually have.

The change in diagnosis brought a different set of questions, but it did not make the tumor easier to treat. Stanford performed a procedure intended to relieve some of Jacoby's pain, while the family was told that the tumor was located in an area too difficult to remove. The treatment plan described to them includes chemotherapy and immunotherapy. However, the family says he has not received immunotherapy since September 3, and they continue looking for a specialist or treatment approach that may help.

Their search eventually led them to a medical center in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to the family, its team expressed confidence in the treatment it proposed, offering a possibility they did not want to overlook. There is a major obstacle: the center does not accept insurance, and the estimated cost is $140,000. That amount is beyond what the family can pay on its own, turning the search for care into a difficult fundraising effort as well as a medical one.

Avian is asking people to help spread Jacoby's story in the hope that it reaches someone familiar with this rare tumor, a relevant clinical trial, or a specialist who may know of another option. The family is not presenting a guaranteed outcome; it is trying to find information and access to care while time and resources matter. Their appeal is also a request for connections that could lead to expertise they have struggled to locate on their own.

Beyond the medical terminology and financial figure, Jacoby's family sees a husband, son, brother and father of three young boys. Avery was two months old when the family faced the diagnosis, and Jacoby hopes to watch his sons grow into good men and make many more memories together. The GoFundMe is titled “Support Jacobey's Fight Against Stage 4 Cancer,” using the spelling shown in the fundraiser.