Back in April, my uncle was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. He fought through countless chemo treatments, at the doctors and with 24 hour at home pumps, numerous radiation treatment, hydration, blood transfusions, and infections. He was told that the tumor was not going to shrink, nor could it be operated on because of the location of the tumor, making it a deadly surgery. Only 13 doctors in the world have performed the surgery he needed. The cancer also spread to his liver, making him more sick as time went on. The cancer kept him from eating and he had a feeding tube inserted which became infected 3 times, landing him in the hospital for about a week each time. After traditional chemo wasn't working, Tom and his family talked to a specialist a UCLA, who performed a biopsy and created a personalized cocktail of chemo, tailored to the cancer cells. Test results came back positive at times, but it seemed that every step forward, caused 3 steps back. After 3 months of this treatment, test results showed that the cancer was not responding to it at all. His doctor informed us that the amount and type of chemo Tom needed to fight the cancer, would kill him at this point. Tom decided to cease all treatment, and let the cancer take his course. He passed on January 16, 2009 at 2:30 pm, only 8 days after deciding to stop treatment.
The past 3 weeks or so have been the hardest in my life. I haven't cried more in the past weeks, than I have in a long time. I was lucky enough to see my uncle only a month before he passed, before he was bedridden and in and out of conciousness. That was one of my favorite weekends. I'm very blessed to have made that trip, and can't imagine how I would be feeling if I wasn't able to go. My uncle was an amazing, loving, brave, faithful man. He will always be remembered by the many stories of my crazy Irish side of the family.
Cancer is an awful disease, and I urge everyone who reads to support any awareness groups of any type of cancer. Now, Stephen and I have both lost family members to cancer and have seen its effects first hand.
Uncle Tom, you will be truly missed! I love you and I hope you enjoyed the shot of Jameson in your memory!
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