Update on my uncle with cancer: mixed news

[liberalhistorian]

As many of you know, my uncle, 54, suffered a recurrence of the cancer we thought he'd beaten seven years ago. This time, it was much more aggressive and nasty and had really spread. He went through a year of treatment, including chemo, and we thought he'd beaten it again. But he hadn't, and a stem cell transplant was his only chance for recovery. They couldn't use his own cells, and no one in the family was enough of a match, so it wasn't looking good. A few weeks ago, they determined that they could use his own cells, after all, which is good because it increases the chances of the transplant working.

Well, we just heard from my aunt. He went into the hospital Friday night and has begun chemo in preparation for the stem cell transplant. He had a bad weekend and wasn't feeling well tonight at all, which is to be expected, I guess. We are glad that he can undergo the transplant after all, the problem is that his cells, while good enough to use, aren't as good as the doctors had hoped, which decreases the chances of the transplant working. And to add to matters, he's not as healthy as they'd hoped, which means it'll be harder for his body to deal with the rigors of the transplant. Nevertheless, we are desperately hopeful, since this is his last chance. It just hurts to think of him feeling so bad physically and in so much pain. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, for strength and in hopes that the transplant does, in fact, work. We can't imagine the family without him.

It's hard on my aunt, too, since the transplant hospital is nearly two hours drive away from their home and she can only be there on the weekends since she has to work during the week and she can't take a leave under the Family Medical Leave Act since she works for a business with fewer than fifty employees, and she can't afford to take unpaid leave anyway since she's the only one working. She also has a teenage son to take care of, as well. And, of course, even with insurance the medical bills are horrendous and the damned collectrolls won't leave her alone. She basically tells them to fuck off, she's got more important things to worry about than whether or not they get their fucking commission from the blood of her husband. I say good for her!!!

[LudwigVan]

1. You got my prayers.

I got a brother who's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma came back and he's gonna need chemo.

[liberalhistorian]

2. Thanks, and I will definitely

keep your brother in my prayers as well! I hope everything goes well. Chemo is really rough, but if he makes it through and it works it will have been worth it.