Jennings Lodge resident Jason Wilson’s family is refusing to accept doctors saying he will soon die of Stage 4 brain cancer and are keeping up their fight.

The Wilsons are pursuing alternative treatments, as well as radiation, hoping that he will one day be able to say that he is a cancer survivor. Alternative treatments are not covered by insurance, and one of the treatments, a dietary supplement called Cellect, is costing the family $1,120 per month.

The family has set up the Jason Wilson Benefit Donation Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank to help defray medical costs. More info is available at fightingforjason.org.

Wilson was diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer called glioblastoma multiforme on April 28, his daughter Makaylin’s fourth birthday.

His symptoms, including debilitating headaches and the occasional strange smell or taste, started only two weeks before being diagnosed. During his first of three surgeries, his physician removed less than a third of his tumor. His second surgery, less than 24 hours after the first, removed his skull to relieve pressure and swelling.

“We were told that this would take his life, and he was given less than a year to live,” said his fiancee, Nicole Wilson.

After these surgeries, he wore a helmet to protect the large portion of his missing skull. He appeared to be gaining his strength back, but on May 28, he experienced increased weakness and fell without his helmet on.

An MRI revealed a large hemorrhage, and his tumor had doubled in size. It was unknown if the fall caused the bleeding, or if the bleeding caused him to blackout and fall.

“We were told there was nothing they could do for him, that he was going to die and that it was time to bring in hospice,” Wilson said.

That same day, the Wilsons flew him on an emergency medical plane from Portland to Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa, where his third surgery on May 30 removed another large portion of tumor, which had been slightly larger than a lime.

Without active treatment, the cancer will grow quickly. As of last month his tumor was a centimeter large, and new tumors have appeared.

Activities he had enjoyed included playing soccer, dirt-bike riding, hunting, fishing, poker, basketball and camping.

“We are praying that he will one day be able to enjoy all of these things again and more,” Wilson said.