Former UW football player Dan Milsten battling cancer
SEATTLE - Community members at the University of Washington are banding together to support one of their own.
(UW Athletics)
Despite his playing days at UW being cut short because of a leg injury that ended his football career, Tacoma native Dan Milsten left a lasting impact. And now that he’s in the fight of his life, his support system is coming out in full force, as they band together behind one of the good guys.
What they're saying:
"He’s always put other people first, and we want to return the favor because he’s always taken care of us, and we want to make sure we take care of him and his beautiful family," Milsten former teammate Jordan Reffett said.
Back in January, Milsten and his family were given devastating news. The 42-year-old husband and father of two was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer and neuroendocrine metastatic carcinoma, which is terminal.
The cancer has spread aggressively and has kept Milsten in the hospital on and off for weeks at a time.
"You know him as this big, strong guy and this horrible disease comes, and it comes so fast," Reffett said. "We’re trying to slow it down to where he can take some treatments that can hopefully continue to prolong his life and give him more time with his wife and his boys, only six and eight years old... They’re little athletes, and they’re little Dans.... I see his legacy in his boys and I want to make sure that they get as much time with him as possible."
Reffett started a GoFundMe to make sure Milsten and his family were taken care of during this time of need.
He and the family have been blown away by the support. More than 500 donations have come in over two weeks, with that number increasing by the day.
"What’s been so awesome about this whole experience is to show Dan and really his loved ones about how special Dan was to all of us and the Husky community and to everyone that donated," Reffett said. "We can’t even talk about it without getting emotional because from a $5 donation to a $5,000 donation... it’s been overwhelming. It’s one of those things that gives you that feeling that your faith in humanity is back because if anybody deserves it, it’s Dan Milsten."
After a first round of chemotherapy, Dan’s liver function improved, allowing him to take in more medicine. He began another round of chemo on Sunday with the hope being that he could return home in the next week or so.
If you’re looking to support Dan and his family, you can find their GoFundMe here.
The Source: Information in this story came from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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