LIFE was fine for Jason Simpson until around July 2025 when he started feeling a pain rushing down his right leg.

“I went to doctor, got different painkillers until I started doing therapy. After the therapy the pain continued and that’s when they sent me to do an MRI in September and they suggested I do another one which I did in October because they saw something abnormal.

“That was when they saw a mass on my lower back, which wrapped around the nerve that runs down my leg. I did a biopsy in January and that’s when I found out it was cancerous. They recommended that I get treatment overseas because the treatment is not given in Jamaica,” the now 36-year-old father-of-two told the Jamaica Observer last Friday.

“When I calculate everything, it is over $5 million [for the treatment]. I need your help, because I have to go overseas to redo most of the tests and to start the treatment. The treatment I require is the Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy treatment,” added Simpson as he appealed for the public’s help to raise US$30,000 to help him pay for treatment at a United States-based hospital which has indicated that it can provide the treatment.

Simpson shared a letter dated March 2, 2026, in which a consultant orthopaedic and spinal surgeon asked for assistance from a consultant haemoncologist in the US with regard to Simpson’s condition.

The letter stated that “Simpson presented with pain to the pelvic region and was found to have Iliac crest mass in the imaging investigation”. It stated that Simpson further underwent image guide biopsy which revealed “metastatic adenocarcinoma and that the primary is unknown despite immunohistochemistry.”

According to Simpson — an employee of the Jamaica Customs Agency and a gospel artiste with songs on
YouTube — he is keeping his fingers crossed and hoping that his appeal for help will reach the right ears.

He told the Observer that his main aim is to be able to maintain a good quality of life so he can continue to support his children.

“My situation is very urgent because based on where it is, if it gets any worse it can lead to me being crippled. It can lead to damage of the spine because it is right at my pelvic bone. It would be good to raise the funds to deal with this right now because I really don’t have so much money. I am trying to keep the stress off my brain because stress will make me sicker.

“I just have to focus on the word of God and keep myself motivated. I have two children. For now I am able to still provide because I have managed to hold the work. One of my sons is just one year old so he doesn’t really understand. The other one is 14 years old and he understands what is going on. I want to be able to continue providing for them and to see them through life,” said Simpson.

He is urging Jamaicans not to take life for granted or ignore signs of poor health as it was vigilance on his part that led to him learning of his condition.

Simpson shared that donation can be made to a GoFundMe account ( gofund.me/632d2d2b0) that was set up for him to raise money for his treatment. He said that donations can also be made to the CIBC/FCIB checking account 1002210549. The account is held at the King Street branch under the name Jason Simpson.