193. Alex Betz

Eugene ‘Alex’ Betz is a 20-year veteran of the Montana Army National Guard and he has been with the Montana Highway Patrol as a Trooper for 18 years. He has 2 amazing daughters and a stepson. He was diagnosed with Spindle Cell Sarcoma in his right thigh in December 2019. The tumor was extremely aggressive and he had his leg amputated in January 2020. The tumor had grown to the size of a softball in approximately 4-5 months. Less than a month after the amputation, he found out the cancer had metastasized in his lungs. He had 4 tumors and surgery was not an option. He received autoimmune treatment, but the tumors continued to grow. After 3 treatments, he found out the tumors had tripled in size. His doctor told him he had 4 months left of relatively “mobile” time left and then perhaps 2 months of pain and limited to no mobility.

Alex is an avid outdoorsman. His daughters have carried on in his footsteps and love camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, backpacking, etc. Alex has always wanted to take his daughters on an adventure to Alaska. He does not have the resources now to do that, but it is something he still wants to do. He wants to take his girls on one last epic adventure before he is no longer strong enough to do so.

Alex is an amazing human being. He volunteered his time for children with cancer at Camp Make A Dream in Montana. He became certified and used his personal raft to take kids, even some in wheelchairs, floating down the Missouri River. He also volunteered his time to the Montana Wounded Warrior Project. He brought veterans on hunting and fishing trips throughout the state of Montana. Alex has dedicated his life to helping others. He gave 20 years to his country and deployed to Iraq. He has served as a law enforcement officer for the past 18 years. He has volunteered for non-profits. He is also a single father of 2 amazing daughters and a son who adores him. He has run 1/2 marathons with them, taken them to climb the tallest mountains in Montana, takes them camping multiple times throughout the summer, even into the late fall in Montana. He spends every waking moment trying to find some way to give them lasting memories.

Alex’s cancer has progressed at an alarming rate. He had dinner with my family on Christmas and at that time he knew he had a tumor, but he did not know it was cancer. 7 months later, he just signed up for hospice.

Stella’s Wish Foundation is sending Alex on a road trip to Glacier National Park, where he feels comfortable traveling too, due to their low number of COVID cases.