BUTLER TWP — Scott McCandless and his father, Brian, are looking for a hero.

Brian explained that because Scott, 44, has Crohn’s disease, he has regular blood work done.

In January, Scott had his blood drawn per usual, and the family expected the normal report.

“It came back showing some bad signs,” Brian said. “We were hoping it was some temporary condition, but unfortunately, that was not to be.”

Scott’s doctor referred him to the chief of hepatology and gastroenterology at UPMC.

“You always hope it’s something that’s not so bad,” said Scott, who works as a custodian at the Butler Area Vocational-Technical School.

Doctors thought the problem could be a condition sometimes seen in Crohn’s disease patients, and scans at UPMC did show the sludge in Scott’s bile ducts that is indicative of the condition.

Surgeons in March inserted stents in Scott’s bile ducts to allow them to work properly.

“When they did the stents, they also did some looking around for cancer,” Brian said. “That’s when they found an aggressive form of cancer in his bile ducts.”

Scott admitted he had been feeling nauseous and generally a little unwell, but said he felt much better when the stents were placed.

The discovery of the cancer started a journey for the McCandless family they hope and pray will result in a living donor liver transplant for Scott within six months to save his life.

While Scott’s insurance company has authorized the transplant surgery, it is up to the McCandless family to find a living donor.

Brian, who carries a backpack full of books and information from UPMC on transplantation and checks his phone regularly to see if doctors have added appointments to his calendar, explained that up to 60% of a donor’s liver can be transplanted into the recipient.

The donor’s remaining liver will regrow to its former size and capacity, while the portion transplanted into the recipient will continue to grow as well.

“It’s a journey we never saw coming and something we know nothing about,” said Brian, who is retired from the state Department of Transportation. “I’m finding out how much I don’t know.”

He said he and Scott, who has some learning disabilities but is able to drive, spent an intense three days at the UPMC Family House in the Shadyside neighborhood in Pittsburgh while Scott endured the seemingly endless testing to determine that he is a candidate for transplant.

“It felt like I just finished finals week when it was over,” Brian said.

In addition, Scott underwent another stent procedure in April, as the original stents had clogged up, and will have a third procedure in the near future.

He also underwent 28 radiation and oral chemotherapy treatments, which were administered five days per week at UPMC Passavant in McCandless Township, Allegheny County, so the McCandlesses wouldn’t have to drive to Pittsburgh every day.

“It wasn’t bad at first,” Scott said. “It got a little rougher as time went on because it was building up in my system.”

Brian said his son’s trademark curly hair became straight when the treatment ended on Sept. 1.

Doctors gave Scott’s body a break until Oct. 5, when he underwent surgery to place a port for traditional chemotherapy.

Scott will receive the treatments once per week for two weeks, have a week off, and restart that schedule. Brian said doctors do not know how long Scott will undergo that treatment schedule.

“It is a bridge to keep things stable until the transplant,” Brian said.

He said during the cancer treatment and organ donation preparations, he and Scott have been to appointments at Shadyside, Passavant, McGee, Presbyterian and Montifiore hospitals in the UPMC system.

“We are truly blessed here to have two major hospital systems in Pittsburgh,” Brian said.

He said others staying at the UPMC Family House had traveled from as far away as Oklahoma to receive treatment in the UPMC system.

Brian and Scott also talked to a resident of Family House who said they know a person who had a liver transplant 45 years ago and remains healthy at age 85.

Scott’s church, Faith United Presbyterian, and Brian’s church, Mount Chestnut Presbyterian, have provided financial support for the McCandless’ trips to Pittsburgh and other expenses, and the vo-tech school has been very accommodating and supportive during Scott’s illness.

Regina Hiler, executive director at the vo-tech, described Scott as extremely dedicated, loyal, motivated, strong, very kind and possessing a great sense of humor.

“He is an employee that any school, business or company would be lucky to have,” she said.

Hiler said because the entire staff admires Scott, she is sure he will be showered with support and love now that they have learned of his health challenges.

She agreed that donating a part of one’s liver is a big ask, but Scott deserves the opportunity for a specific reason.

“If people are willing to donate a portion of their liver to someone who needs it, they are very special and brave people,” Hiler said. “Scott also epitomizes these qualities.”

Brian said anyone willing to be a potential donor must be between the ages of 18 and 60, and must undergo extensive testing before they are named a donor. But time is of the essence in Scott’s case.

“They said the sooner, the better,” Brian said.

Scott said the doctors, caregivers, transplant team and others he meets with at UPMC have put him at ease about receiving a liver transplant.

“At first, I was pretty nervous about it and didn’t really want to do it, but I guess I’m more and more ready to get a donor and get things fixed up,” Scott said.

He and his family do not take lightly the fact that someone could undergo surgery to remove part of their liver to save their son’s life.

“I have mixed emotions,” Scott said quietly. “I know it’s a lot to ask for somebody to give a liver, because they’re going to be down for a while.”

Brian feels sure someone will come forward to donate part of their liver to Scott, who is an Eagle Scout and was named to the exclusive Order of the Arrow in Boy Scouts of America as a younger man.

“Butler is a very generous county,” he said. “It always has been.”

Information on becoming a potential living donor for Scott McCandless is available at upmc.com/livingdonorliver, by calling 877-640-6746 or 412-647-5800, or by emailing transplant@upmc.edu.