Show Your Love For Tom Oakes!

RAMP is sending our love and support out to Tom Oakes, longtime VP of Programming for Ohana Media Group in Anchorage, AK, who recently revealed has been diagnosed cancer on the tongue, “which is shocking since I’ve been a life-long non-smoker,” he said. With the urging of friends, and facing the prospect of mounting medical costs, Oakes (pictured here with his adorable great-nephew Dane Youngs) has established a GoFundMe page to help defray his expenses.

“When my doctor told me I had cancer it did not seem real,” Oakes wrote. “Cancer is something that happens to others, I did not think this could happen to me. On top of processing the challenges of cancer, realizing this will most likely have a direct impact on my livelihood as a radio host/programmer has rocked me to the core.” He continued, “I love living in Alaska, but our unique isolation from the rest of the country has contributed to very costly insurance. Like other people you may know or have read about, I have become one of those folks lost in the grand insurance shuffle resulting in no insurance coverage. In addition to uncertainty about my health, what lies ahead is tremendous debt unless I can figure out how to get help to pay for my treatment and recovery. My surgery is scheduled for June 23 in Seattle with follow-up radiation and recovery here in Anchorage.”

In conclusion, Oakes said, “I’ve spent my life trying to help others so it is a real challenge to ask for help but, my friends have urged me to reach out now at the beginning of this process. I don’t ask lightly for help and whatever you might be to do will be more appreciated than you’ll ever know.”