Fundraiser will aid Yakima man with inoperable brain tumor

YAKIMA -- Family and friends of Chad Sears, a Yakima man suffering from an inoperable brain tumor, are holding a car wash to raise money to help defray the cost of his medical insurance.

The car wash is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at AutoZone. The address is 3722 W. Nob Hill Blvd.

Sears, 31, was profiled in the Yakima Herald-Republic in May. At the time, he was pursuing a controversial alternative treatment for the recurring tumor, a plan he has dropped for now because the procedure is expensive and wouldn't be covered by insurance.

Sears has had two cancerous tumors removed over the past eight years. The third reappeared recently, about one year after the second surgery. But doctors have told Sears they can't safely operate a third time. He's undergoing chemotherapy to try and shrink the tumor.

He has medical insurance as an independent contractor for a local insurance agency. But at $400 a month and his limited ability to work, Sears said he has difficulty paying the premium. Sears and his wife, a lab technician, have three children.