Josh Farler Helping Hands Foundation

Josh was born July 27, 1985 and lived in Bakersfield California until his parents moved to Yerington Nevada. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in July, 2004 at the age of 19. He had surgery but it had spread so rapidly through-out his body and he had to have several rounds of Chemo.

He travelled from Yerington to the cancer hospital at University of California, Los Angeles for each treatment. His parents were with him the whole time and had to pay for travel, housing, and food out of their own pocket. Josh was in a catch 22 situation. He had enrolled in college and moved into the dorm but had not attended any classes as school had not started, when he was diagnosed. He went home to have the first surgery, then to Los Angeles for a second along with all of the Chemo treatments. His insurance would not pay for any of his medical bills because he was not in school! His parents eventually obtained a private, very expensive, insurance which covered some of the costs but still left them with a tremendous financial burden.
This is the situation that a lot of people find themselves in when loved ones are hospitalized for treatment. It can get very expensive to live in motels and eat out for long periods of time. Most of the time family members stayed in the room with Josh, which can be exhausting. He and his family made this trip numerous times in the following year and a half. To help offset the costs, Josh Farler Foundation of Bakersfield, Ca organized the first benefit poker tournament for Josh. They were very successful and raised close to $13,000. Josh was very positive and patient during his illness. He loved to play poker and we would have games when he came though Bakersfield to rest at his grandmother’s home and visit with his family here for a few days before making the trip home to Nevada. Then the cycle would start all over again. Josh lost his long and hard fought battle with cancer on December 26th, 2005. We will forever miss him. Our goal now is to help other young people near his hometown, with travel and lodging expenses while seeking treatment. We have applications for anyone you think can use this help, maybe someone in your family or your church or school. Perhaps your child has a schoolmate undergoing cancer treatments and has mentioned it to you? If so, please let us know. We do this in memory of Josh Farler whom we all loved and miss! Visit Helping Hands website for more information.