Cancer patient raising money to help other cancer warriors pay medical bills
Apr 28, 2022, 8:30 PM | Updated: Jun 20, 2022, 2:14 pm
OGDEN, Utah — An Ogden man is dedicating part of his business to helping people cover the devastating cost that comes with fighting cancer.
It’s all part of a new venture being launched this week.
Miles Tolman still has another expensive surgery ahead in his own fight with cancer, but he said he couldn’t just stand by.
As he tries to raise the funds to pay for his own treatments, he’ll be doing that for other families fighting that same battle.
“Beginning of 2020, I was getting really bad headaches, really bad migraines. I was getting really weak,” Tolman said.
A visit to the emergency room brought a surprise diagnosis.
“They sat me down and they said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this. It’s not easy, but you have testicular cancer,’” Tolman said.
After the surgery, more tests followed.
“This is what they gave me when I left the hospital,” he said.
It showed more cancer in his lymph nodes and several growths in his colon.
“Once you get cancer, you’re never going to be the same,” he explained. “Something inside you changes and I see the world completely differently now.”
Adding to all of that, Tolman recently lost a life-long friend to the disease.
“It really affected me, and I wanted to do more, like for my kids,” he added.
Tolman then considered his business — Utah Driveway Pressure Washing.
He said, “After seeing that and seeing how many people struggle, I had to do something.”
With the help of another best friend, Marcus Davis, they started donating 5% of their earnings to helping cancer warriors pay their bills.
“I have the time,” Davis said. “I have the energy, the resources, so I was like, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Miles Tolman (left) and Marcus Davis (right)
They’re doing it because they can. The money is going to Ink Against Cancer, a charity that helped Tolman make ends meet recently.
“I’m not the only one struggling, you know,” he said.
All of it while knowing Tolman’s own battle is far from over. Medical bills will continue to pile up and he may not survive, but he said it’s what he has to do.
“I was going to wait until after I beat cancer, but tomorrow is not promised,” he said.
Naturally, all of this has been very tough on his wife and kids, including his son who has autism.
He said they’re looking to add an autism-related charity that they can also support in the near future.
The Tolman family
