Mom: Cruel hoax cost cancer-stricken son his life
SEATTLE -- A local family already facing more than its share of adversity was dealt a devastating setback by a stranger who they say preyed on a terminally ill teenager.
It was the generosity of a complete stranger that gave the Doty family hope that their son's life could be saved by expensive cancer treatments. But the promise of big bucks for that treatment turned out to be hoax and possible caused a young man his life.
Wednesday, 20-year-old Thomas Doty lost his battle with a rare form of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma.
"I honestly believed...and the doctors we were working with believed wholeheartedly that they could save Thomas' life," said Tiffany Doty, Thomas' mother.
Just a week ago, Thomas was showing promise and improving daily after a stay in a California Hospital specializing in difficult cancer cases. But getting to that point took the Doty family on an emotional roller coaster they never imagined.
The family needed to raise $50,000 for the treatment, while facing foreclose on their Maple Valley home. In September, a famous friend stepped in -- Deadliest Catch star Jonathan Hillstrand.
He asked his fans to help Thomas. And then came reason to hope -- a stranger emailed Thomas' mother, promising a check for $250,000.
"She would get on the phone with me and say, 'I'm so sorry for what your going through and did you tell Thomas the wire is on the way?' " Tiffany Doty said.
But after eight weeks of back and forth, stories and reassurances, the money never came. It was time Thomas could have been receiving life-saving treatment. Instead, he was slowly slipping away.
"She went to great lengths and just broke Thomas spirit...like he needed something...one more disappointment in his life," Tiffany Doty said.
KOMO 4 News shared Thomas' story, and the community responded, raising enough money to get the young man to California.
While Thomas showed great improvement, lost time had taken its toll.
"I honestly 100 percent believe my son would be here if that time had not been wasted," Tiffany Doty said.
Now the Doty's are left with memories of a son who loved life and wanted nothing more than to live it.
"His favorite quote was, 'Shoot for the stars...see you in heaven,' " she said.
The family's attorney says if he can track this person down, he'll take her to court for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The Doty's say she is even now harassing their family. They plan to contact police after they lay their son to rest
Thomas Doty's funeral will be held Saturday at Christian Faith Center at 12:30 p.m. in Federal Way.
It was the generosity of a complete stranger that gave the Doty family hope that their son's life could be saved by expensive cancer treatments. But the promise of big bucks for that treatment turned out to be hoax and possible caused a young man his life.
Wednesday, 20-year-old Thomas Doty lost his battle with a rare form of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma.
"I honestly believed...and the doctors we were working with believed wholeheartedly that they could save Thomas' life," said Tiffany Doty, Thomas' mother.
Just a week ago, Thomas was showing promise and improving daily after a stay in a California Hospital specializing in difficult cancer cases. But getting to that point took the Doty family on an emotional roller coaster they never imagined.
The family needed to raise $50,000 for the treatment, while facing foreclose on their Maple Valley home. In September, a famous friend stepped in -- Deadliest Catch star Jonathan Hillstrand.
He asked his fans to help Thomas. And then came reason to hope -- a stranger emailed Thomas' mother, promising a check for $250,000.
"She would get on the phone with me and say, 'I'm so sorry for what your going through and did you tell Thomas the wire is on the way?' " Tiffany Doty said.
But after eight weeks of back and forth, stories and reassurances, the money never came. It was time Thomas could have been receiving life-saving treatment. Instead, he was slowly slipping away.
"She went to great lengths and just broke Thomas spirit...like he needed something...one more disappointment in his life," Tiffany Doty said.
KOMO 4 News shared Thomas' story, and the community responded, raising enough money to get the young man to California.
While Thomas showed great improvement, lost time had taken its toll.
"I honestly 100 percent believe my son would be here if that time had not been wasted," Tiffany Doty said.
Now the Doty's are left with memories of a son who loved life and wanted nothing more than to live it.
"His favorite quote was, 'Shoot for the stars...see you in heaven,' " she said.
The family's attorney says if he can track this person down, he'll take her to court for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The Doty's say she is even now harassing their family. They plan to contact police after they lay their son to rest
Thomas Doty's funeral will be held Saturday at Christian Faith Center at 12:30 p.m. in Federal Way.
I am not sure what failed for Thomas, who would have been entitled to medical coverage through both the state and the federal government for treatment as his cancer was disabling.  The problem with some of these private cancer centers that offer this amazing results with patients is that they don't take many insurances or the insurance companies won't cover their care because its not necessarily accepted as anything better then what is available locally  - many only take cash.  And this forces families who are not willing to give up the need to turn to the community to generate the cash payments these cancer centers require.  Its sad that this person may have tricked them into putting all their eggs in one basket with the amount that was offered instead of hoping smaller amounts would add up.  I am sure the cancer centers failure was based on 'coming too late' instead of admitting that maybe their treatments are the same and no better then local cancer centers that take insurance no matter who provides it and will not turn away those that cannot pay.  I have a bigger problem with a cancer center that says 'we can treat you with out the $50,000 in hand then this woman teasing a family with an offered check. Â
I was so disgusted by this story, but it is hard to tell if this person actually broke any laws, so help from law enforcement may be limited.  Plus, which state's department will look for her - Washington? California? whatever state she lives in?  So, I took over her twitter handle @jonnicaellis and I have started a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Who-is-Jonnica-Ellis/513373518693246.  She will NOT get away with this!!
Please see if this is the same woman.............there are NUMEROUS accounts of her destroying (or at least terrifying) lives all over the country in much the same manner............from the adoption community, animal rescue groups, and several "Christmas" things over the years.---- Â
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Agencies try to make up for Christmas hoaxer; woman claims she delivered gifts | news10.net www.news10.net SACRAMENTO, CA - She had signed up to provide Christmas packages for 47 families and so the two agencies overseeing two separate Christmas giftSacramento News | Modesto, Stockton, Sacramento news, weather, traffic, news video & sports in CAwww.news10.netSacramento news & news video, weather forecasts, traffic reports, sports news & news video for Sacramento,Â
I disagree. A hoax did not kill this young man. Lack of affordable healthcare did. You could have at least included a sentence about this very real problem that lets people die all the time. We may be the greatest nation on earth, except when it comes to healthcare where we rank near the bottom of developed nations. Let's make some news about that!
Thomas did receive the best care that Children'a Hospital, and their well renound oncologist could offer over the past 2 plus years. It's when the oncologist informed my family there was nothing more they could offer my grandson that we thoroughly researched "alternative" treatments where patients have had tremendous success even in late stage cancers.  @howsthatworkn4u @frequenttweeterÂ
What about the insurance companies, the doctors, the hospitals!! If this guy was getting better how on earth could they just stop treating him!! They decided that rather than treat him for free, or on "credit", they would just let him die. Sure the guy who made the pledge is a jerk, but it was the money hungry, medical professionals that turned their backs.Â
 @Asa "If this guy was getting better how on earth could they just stop treating him!!"
That's the thing about for profit medical care - if there is no profit, they don't have to treat.
It's capitalism at it's worse.
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I have followed this story locally for a while. Â There is a blog devoted to this young man, but I hesitate to post it here. Â The dad is unemployed and unsuccessful at finding employment in the midst of all this turmoil. Â The mom's 'job' was being caretaker to her son. Â I assume they don't have insurance. Â They put their own fundraising on hold, believing this woman, who was very elaborate in her cruelty - forged bank statements, fake cashier's checks, etc., in an effort to prove she was on the up and up. Â Thomas was actually doing better but after all that drama with that witch, they found a fast-growing/aggressive tumor that developed during the 8 weeks he received no treatment. Â It seems that is what ultimately caused his death. Â Please don't judge, they were trying desperately to save their son's life and pinned some (not all) of their hopes on a con artist. Â She knew this and took great pains to string them along. Â
It is not our place to judge others.Â
RIP, young man and the best to the family; assuming there are no siblings or grandparents involved here......no mention of other family members.
 @mustang sally He has one brother, four grandparents, a girlfriend, dog, and many friends.
 @mustang sally It will be an American's duty to judge the con artist in a court of law. This could eventually result in criminal charges, if a prosecutor can be persuaded to do so.
Kind of makes you wonder when a human life became so unimportant compared to profit. They make it so expensive to get medical care and if you just simply can't afford it then it seems like they really don't care about the death of that person. Cancer is BIG business!
 @Jatok "Kind of makes you wonder when a human life became so unimportant compared to profit"
When hasn't it?
In the history of mankind, there have been few societies that put life over the bottom line.
This is a sad story, but why would you trust your son's life with the word of a stranger? Healthcare needs to change. People who are suffering from cancer shouldn't be denied life saving treatments ever.Â
 "But the promise of big bucks for that treatment turned out to be hoax and possible caused a young man his life."
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Please edit this KOMO.
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"...after a stay in a California Hospital specializing in difficult cancer cases."
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Why is hospital capitalized here?
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Thank you.
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 @lakeview "Why is hospital capitalized here?"
Why is BFD capitalized HERE?
 @lakeviewÂ
"Why is hospital capitalized here?"
It isn't capitalized there, it's capitalized in the article. Please edit this lakeview.
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(You're a sad little man aren't you?)
KOMO has written articles about this before. And the same question remains that they obviously don't feel comfortable to address. Did these parents have health insurance? Did the 20 year old have health insurance? I guess we are led to believe that they did not, otherwise wouldn't they be fighting the insurance company to cover the treatment?
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This is a perfect example of why I don't like human interest stories written by local news. You never get the whole truth. With what we went though with Obamacare, you'd think that they could have at least added a simple statement on whether or not this 20 year old had health insurance. Â
 @lakeview Both parents are unemployed, so safe to assume they have no insurance.  Dad is having no success obtaining employment and mom was caretaker for her son.  I wish I could post their blog with all this and much more information, but it's theirs and I don't feel comfortable sharing the blog address.
 @lakeview Also, if he did have health insurance, currently most insurance companies in Washington state will not cover health care expenses incurred in other states. My father in law had a heart attack while on vacation outside the state and insurance did not cover a penny of his treatment. This family probably exhausted all their options here, and sought help in a place where their son had a higher chance of survival, I would do the same thing and a few of my family members have done the same as well. When the insurance company you have been paying into has denied you what you have been paying them for, you turn to other resources, which is what this family did.
 @lakeview Insurance doesn't cover everything. Cancer treatment is horrendously expensive and wouldn't pay for airfare and hotels and other expenses that the family would incur during their stay in Cali while their son was in the hospital. I could see where they would need to raise that money.
 @cm257n7  @lakeview Oops...you wrote "Cali" instead of "California"...lakeview is going to go ballistic!
As I recall, there was a story a few months ago about this. Johnathan Hillstrand did a promotion for this family specifically to raise these funds. This woman was obsessed with the Hillstrand family and wanted to find a way so that she could meet them. Johnathan Hillstand personally thanked this woman for donating the money, and therefore her quest was fulfilled. She never had any intention to help this poor family. To say that it is the fault of the family for delaying treatment based off of a stranger as some have said is only passing judgement without all the information. Johnathan Hillstrand was launching a fundraiser for this family, so when someone pledged the money, they had every reason to believe she was going to follow through with it.
When I first read this, I thought this could be some kids that have no idea how serious this is and thought it would be funny. With the harassment, I think someone is feeling like crap for doing this and they want to turn it to the family. Whoever this person is, young or old, he or she needs to have a eye opening awaking to what could of, would of or might of been, and still pay. Â
This is sickening. However, why would you delay treatment based on the words of a stranger? I understand the costs but if your saying "he could have been receiving treatment" during that time, then there was money somewhere.Â
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If it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. While the hoaxter deserves serious bad Karma, they are not responsible for your sons death, no matter how much you want to blame them.Â
This person that did this has some seriously bad Karma coming their way. I don't get why some onefrom Seattle would go to California for cancer treatment when the rest of the country comes to Seattle for it.
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 @msouthj I also had a pediatric family member go to California for cancer treatment.
 @msouthj It depends on the cancer and the treatment.
When my 2 year old grandson had cancer they sent him to an LA clinic that was the leading place in the country for the experimental treatment.
And it worked.
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Our healthcare system needs to change. Â How deep ones pocket are shouldn't be a factor in your survival rate.
@orc  It has changed. By 2014, you will be required to have insurance. Â
 @orc Agreed - the right to health care should be absolute.
If people were as adamant about that right as the gun rights people are about their killing machines, we would be a whole lot better off - and a lot healthier nation.
 @OrcasThunder  @orc The right to keep and bare arms is written into the Constitution, the right to health insurance is not. Two different topics, not applicable here.
 @tobringlight  @orc Where is it written that there is a "right to bare arms"?
The words "Provide for the general welfare" CAN be interpreted to include the right to an education, the right to a fair standard of life, and the right to medical care to save a life.
Are you against 911? That is set up specifically to provide health care regardless of ability to pay - would you require a means test prior to administering CPR?
Why isn't the mother pissed off at the Cancer Center who refused to give the life-saving treatment without money up front? If anyone is at fault for this guy dying, it's them.
 @Tattooed_Angel One, they are a business - they state up front that they provide a service for a fee.
Two, they did not lie to get the money like this slimy leech in CA did...unless you have been through it you have no idea of just how much desperation drives the business of cancer.
If you want to rant about a company doing what it's business model says it should do, go after the bank that was foreclosing on these people while their son was going through this illness. The banks are the ones who hold the purse in this, not the family - the banks are as greedy as the slime who took the money, they just have better PR and lawyers.
@OrcasThunder
Sure, the cancer center is a business however they idly sat by and watched this young man die when his life could have possibly been saved. They had the ability to treat him but they didn't.
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Whose at fault for his death, if anyone? It's not the bank foreclosing on their house. It sucks but if you don't pay your bills there are consequences. Everyone knows that.
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The mother is blaming the POS stranger who continously promised a donation that was never made however it isn't their fault he died. The mother should have never relied on that donation to have her son treated.
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And I HAVE been through it. I've lost a couple family members to cancer. Multiple doctors in multiple states, alternative treatments in Mexico... been there done that. One thing we never did though was sit around and wait for some stranger to give us money to go through with a treatment.
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If I was in that mother's position, I would have never stopped trying to raise the money nor would I have ever relied on one large donation from a stranger.
@OrcasThunder I see the point you are TRYING to make however it is COMPLETELY different. Banks foreclosing on their house wasn't a life-threatening situation. The medical center refusing treatment without payment up front is.
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And who gives an eff what Sarah Palin says? I don't.
@OrcasThunder You are obsessed with Sarah Palin. Death is a fact of life. We will all die. I have expressed to my wife that I will NEVER bankrupt my family because I am sick or hurt. I have a living will that expresses my wishes in the event of a medical situation that requires extreme measures where I can not make my own decision known. Rather than fight the inevitability of death, we should work to enjoy our last days. When I go, I want to be surrounded by my friends and family and laughing/reminiscing about the good times we had, then die with dignity. The only thing I will need from doctors at that point is good medication to ease the pain. Luckily, I live in Washington State and if nothing else, can smoke some pot.....
 @Tattooed_Angel  @OrcasThunder "Sure, the cancer center is a business however they idly sat by and watched this young man die when his life could have possibly been saved. They had the ability to treat him but they didn't."...and then..."It's not the bank foreclosing on their house. It sucks but if you don't pay your bills there are consequences."
Why are these different? The care center had the means to save his life. So did the bank. They could have put the foreclosure on hold, or even forgiven the loan...but they did nothing except add to the troubles of the family.
The answer is that they each look at the business of this situation, and made the decision to put profit ahead of the boy's life.
And that is exactly what Sarah Palin was talking about with her "Death Panels" comment - she just didn't realize who she was actually talking about.
I am saddened by the family's loss, and what the unknown "benefactor" absolutely did a cruel thing to Thomas and his whole family.  However, I feel the blame is a little misplaced here.  I find it odd that they would pin their hopes on someone whose name they didn't even know, on promises unsubstantiated, on a person they don't even know how to contact.  I know from experience that a parent will grasp at any straw to try to save their child, but to blame this stranger for the boy's death isn't really appropriate.  Also, osteosarcoma is *not* a "rare form of bone cancer".  Quoting from the PubMed web site "Osteosarcoma is the most common cancerous (malignant) bone tumor in kids." and "Osteosarcoma is the eighth most common form of childhood cancer, comprising 2.4% of all malignancies in pediatric patients, and approximately 20% of all primary bone cancers".  It's an aggressive cancer, but can be stopped if caught early.  Like so many cancers, early detection and treatment are key.  But it's not that uncommon.  Once again, I'm sorry for the family's loss, and the cruel treatment from the stranger, but I wouldn't blame the boy's death on her.
 @magic_eye "but to blame this stranger for the boy's death isn't really appropriate."
If that greed can be shown as having cost the time that might have saved his life, I think the slime has a fair share of the blame to carry on this. Just as if someone refusing to cut short a telephone call on a public phone so that 911 could be called would have a share of the guilt for the results of that delay would have. If not legal, than at the very least a moral guilt.
I am so sorry for your loss and so very sorry someone did such a horrible, cruel thing to your son and your family. Sometimes there are no words to describe how horrible a person can be, this is one of those times.Â
I'm out of here for today and hope everyone can have a Merry Christmas by looking beyond this tragedy.
Karma always prevails.
 @Klondiko No, it doesn't.
Tiffany, I am so sorry for your loss, especially under such circumstances.Â
So sorry you have lost your son to such an awful disease.....he WILL see you in heaven. As far as the "woman," I hope she can be caught. Scam people like this are so very sick in the head because of preying on the families of the very ill. I hope this family was able to save their home.
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RIP, Thomas and prayers to your family and friends.
This person is sick and needs to be locked up for ever. How low and sick can you be?
I hope they're at least able to get the name out of the person who did this garbage. The public will do the rest to make this persons life miserable.
Another sad tale of a failed health care system where the bottom line is always the most important factor. These are the kinds of stories that push more and more people towards socialism.
 @Blindman "I hope they're at least able to get the name out of the person who did this garbage."
But, without proof that can stand up in court at a trial, simply putting out the name could be called slander.