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Hello, thank you for taking the time to read my story about the most courageous person I have ever met in my entire life - my brother, Kyle Myroniuk.
Back in 2007, I remember the moment he told me he was sick. He had found a lump in his leg and went to the doctor by himself and found out that the lump contained cancer and he had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I had come home from work and I remember he was getting ready to go to work and we got in to a typical brother/sister fight (about absolutely nothing important) and when he left I remember screaming at him to not be so grumpy and he turned around and said "I have cancer". At that moment I had no idea what was to come and the journey he would have to go on to get to where he is now.
He did radiation for 6 weeks, and the cancer went in to remission, we thought it was all over, this was another story for our family to tell and laugh about.
A year passed and he was told he was in remission, he was in remission for 5 whole years and I got the phone call that the cancer had come back. And this time was much different. He was having trouble breathing when he walked up a flight of stairs, so he went in for tests and the next thing I knew he was in the hospital getting surgery on his lungs as his lungs were full of lumps that contained cancer. Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma is slow growing and very responsive to treatment but this time, the cancer had transformed to aggressive diffuse large B-cell follicular lymphoma. After a few surgeries to remove the lumps they could, chemotherapy was the only option. Kyle’s oncologist chose an intense group of five chemotherapy treatments in the hopes that he would be in remission in a few months. Like many others familiar with chemo, his hair fell out and that was a hard moment for our family as it seemed a lot more real.
He once again found the strength and the courage to fight this and in May of 2014 tests revealed that he was again in remission! He went back to work in January of 2015, and went diligently to his appointments every three months at the Cross Cancer Institute, being cleared every month. He and his girlfriend Sam, got engaged on New Years Eve 2014 and they purchased a house in 2015. They were starting their lives together and we were all excited about it, he was back to work and working on getting a promotion. In August of 2015 he was seen for another check up at the Cross Cancer Institute and was cleared again. At that point, his oncologist thought it was safe to wait four months until the next appointment - progress! Then in September, he came down with a cold, he went to the doctor and was told it was strep throat and was given penicillin. He was over at my condo and we were hanging out, we went to my parents and we thought he looked a little bit swollen and he had a bit of a rash so we thought he was maybe allergic to the medication and told him to go see our family doctor on Monday when they were open. Kyle’s family doctor immediately sent him for blood work and within a few hours his oncologist called him letting him know that the cancer had returned and he would have to be admitted that same day to the University of Alberta Hospital hematology ward. Kyle was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. We learned later that the chemotherapy that was chosen to treat his B-cell Lymphoma had altered his chromosomes and this defect changed the way his body produced blood cells. The treatment that had saved his life had now caused another cancer! The way things were going, without treatment, he wouldn’t make it more than a few weeks.
He was started on chemotherapy immediately and something just felt so different about this time, something a lot more serious and a lot scarier. The chemotherapy was administered 24 hours a day for a week and then Kyle was monitored in hospital for weeks afterward while he recovered. Our family took shifts going to see him every day to help him pass the time as much as possible. Because the cancer was a result of previous chemotherapy, Kyle’s oncologist explained that with this typical leukemia treatment alone even though it was successful, the cancer would most likely return within months. Kyle’s best option for survival was a bone marrow transplant. I was the only member of the family with the chance of being a match and even with the same Mom and Dad and only I had a 25% chance of being a match. I am so used to hearing bad news (and I'm sure I could speak on behalf of my whole family when I say this) I didn't expect at all to be a match but I got the phone call the first week of November that I was a FULL 10/10 MATCH! Best news we had heard in so long!
In November, Kyle had a meeting with the transplant team to explain the process and what his odds of surviving were. We had no idea that the risks of the transplant were just as scary as the cancer! We all left feeling very discouraged, but like he always does, he decided he was going to fight. He was going to take the small chance of surviving for the chance at a "normal" life. The transplant date was set for January at the Tom Baker Cancer Center in Calgary.
At the end of November came another curve ball. The leukemia had relapsed but this time was in his skin. Kyle was faced with a whole new battle now. Because of Kyle’s previous treatments, he was almost at the “lifetime dose” of the go-to chemotherapy for this cancer. Kyle was granted special access to a very strong chemotherapy medication and was back in the hospital. As we waited for Kyle to recover from the chemotherapy, the bone marrow transplant was reschedule to February. He was granted a pass for a few hours to come home on Christmas to all be together for a few hours (a lot of crying was done that day when we had to say goodbye to him). When the skin biopsies showed that the cancer had survived, he was offered an alternative to chemotherapy. A targeted antibody treatment from the U.S. had been successful in treating these types of cases. Again special access to the medication was granted! Thank you to the Government of Canada and the U.S. for making this happen. Back in the hospital again this medication took a toll on Kyle mentally and physically. This drug ended up working, but in March Kyle was sent to the ICU unable to breathe and his heart struggling. But somehow he fought through everything and was cleared once again to do the transplant. So, the date was set once again, April 29, 2016.
He and I were both sent separate calendars of appointments and tests for the work up before the transplant. So, he and I had to go down to Calgary for a few nights in order to meet our doctors and nurses and do all of the tests. It was an emotional day for me, I cried the whole entire time and the doctors still ask Kyle about me and if I'm ok, and for those who know me, I do NOT cry about anything besides my brother.
Kyle found an apartment in Calgary close to the hospital, and one that was pet friendly, as he has 2 dogs, and that was very important for him to be able to see them when he was not in the hospital. He was to be at the hospital on April 21st and I was being admitted on the 28th. On Friday, April 22nd, the day before my Mum and I were planning on going down to Calgary, we once again were given bad news. The last medication that he was given really did a number on his liver and his liver was not strong enough to be survive the traditional chemotherapy used to condition his body for the new cells. He had three choices: 1) to keep him comfortable until the leukemia returned within 6 to 8 weeks, 2) to go ahead with the transplant with different conditioning to get him ready for the transplant with different chemotherapy that is not as hard on the liver, 3) to go ahead with the traditional transplant as planned with the greatest chance of remaining cancer-free in the long run, but the experts agreed that it was unlikely that Kyle would survive the first 30 days after the transplant.
We all sat in Calgary in the living room of his apartment and cried and talked about our options and let him decide what he wanted to do as he knows his body and we didn't want to put any pressure on him to make a decision. He decided option 2 and we went ahead with the transplant, April 29th will now be known as his "second" (or in my opinion, his first) birthday, as that is the day he was given a second chance at life. In the days following the transplant, Kyle’s life was again in danger. Even with all of the precautions taken, his liver was still struggling and he wasn’t able to breathe without oxygen. He also contracted a flu and with no immune system to fight it every day seemed to get worse. But then one morning he was a little bit better, and the next day again he was better. Thankfully, they did not need to put him on a ventilator which could have made recovery even harder. Kyle is still at risk but every day he proves that he is still the fighter that we have known all along.
Today (July 4th) is day 66 and we just celebrated his "first" birthday on Canada Day in Calgary, he was born July 1, 1984. For the first time in over 10 months he went to a restaurant with the whole family and we celebrated together. He had a lot of anxieties, being around that many people is hard for him because if he caught a common cold, he could be back in the hospital. But, he did it, he walked up the steps all by himself and it wore him out but he was the happiest I have seen him in almost a year.
This is where I am asking for help. He has been in and out of hospital since October of 2015 and hasn't been able to work and I would like to try and raise money for him to help pay his medical bills, the rent he is paying in Calgary and his own mortgage and bills he has to pay every month back here in Edmonton.
Any amount helps and when he is better and back home, he (or probably I) will give each and every one of you a BIG hug for any donation, no matter how small or big it is.
THANK YOU for listening to me, if you can't help, please feel free to pass this along to someone who possibly could.
I love you Kyle, I will always love you and now that we are one person we will forever be connected, even more so than we were before.
Back in 2007, I remember the moment he told me he was sick. He had found a lump in his leg and went to the doctor by himself and found out that the lump contained cancer and he had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I had come home from work and I remember he was getting ready to go to work and we got in to a typical brother/sister fight (about absolutely nothing important) and when he left I remember screaming at him to not be so grumpy and he turned around and said "I have cancer". At that moment I had no idea what was to come and the journey he would have to go on to get to where he is now.
He did radiation for 6 weeks, and the cancer went in to remission, we thought it was all over, this was another story for our family to tell and laugh about.
A year passed and he was told he was in remission, he was in remission for 5 whole years and I got the phone call that the cancer had come back. And this time was much different. He was having trouble breathing when he walked up a flight of stairs, so he went in for tests and the next thing I knew he was in the hospital getting surgery on his lungs as his lungs were full of lumps that contained cancer. Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma is slow growing and very responsive to treatment but this time, the cancer had transformed to aggressive diffuse large B-cell follicular lymphoma. After a few surgeries to remove the lumps they could, chemotherapy was the only option. Kyle’s oncologist chose an intense group of five chemotherapy treatments in the hopes that he would be in remission in a few months. Like many others familiar with chemo, his hair fell out and that was a hard moment for our family as it seemed a lot more real.
He once again found the strength and the courage to fight this and in May of 2014 tests revealed that he was again in remission! He went back to work in January of 2015, and went diligently to his appointments every three months at the Cross Cancer Institute, being cleared every month. He and his girlfriend Sam, got engaged on New Years Eve 2014 and they purchased a house in 2015. They were starting their lives together and we were all excited about it, he was back to work and working on getting a promotion. In August of 2015 he was seen for another check up at the Cross Cancer Institute and was cleared again. At that point, his oncologist thought it was safe to wait four months until the next appointment - progress! Then in September, he came down with a cold, he went to the doctor and was told it was strep throat and was given penicillin. He was over at my condo and we were hanging out, we went to my parents and we thought he looked a little bit swollen and he had a bit of a rash so we thought he was maybe allergic to the medication and told him to go see our family doctor on Monday when they were open. Kyle’s family doctor immediately sent him for blood work and within a few hours his oncologist called him letting him know that the cancer had returned and he would have to be admitted that same day to the University of Alberta Hospital hematology ward. Kyle was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. We learned later that the chemotherapy that was chosen to treat his B-cell Lymphoma had altered his chromosomes and this defect changed the way his body produced blood cells. The treatment that had saved his life had now caused another cancer! The way things were going, without treatment, he wouldn’t make it more than a few weeks.
He was started on chemotherapy immediately and something just felt so different about this time, something a lot more serious and a lot scarier. The chemotherapy was administered 24 hours a day for a week and then Kyle was monitored in hospital for weeks afterward while he recovered. Our family took shifts going to see him every day to help him pass the time as much as possible. Because the cancer was a result of previous chemotherapy, Kyle’s oncologist explained that with this typical leukemia treatment alone even though it was successful, the cancer would most likely return within months. Kyle’s best option for survival was a bone marrow transplant. I was the only member of the family with the chance of being a match and even with the same Mom and Dad and only I had a 25% chance of being a match. I am so used to hearing bad news (and I'm sure I could speak on behalf of my whole family when I say this) I didn't expect at all to be a match but I got the phone call the first week of November that I was a FULL 10/10 MATCH! Best news we had heard in so long!
In November, Kyle had a meeting with the transplant team to explain the process and what his odds of surviving were. We had no idea that the risks of the transplant were just as scary as the cancer! We all left feeling very discouraged, but like he always does, he decided he was going to fight. He was going to take the small chance of surviving for the chance at a "normal" life. The transplant date was set for January at the Tom Baker Cancer Center in Calgary.
At the end of November came another curve ball. The leukemia had relapsed but this time was in his skin. Kyle was faced with a whole new battle now. Because of Kyle’s previous treatments, he was almost at the “lifetime dose” of the go-to chemotherapy for this cancer. Kyle was granted special access to a very strong chemotherapy medication and was back in the hospital. As we waited for Kyle to recover from the chemotherapy, the bone marrow transplant was reschedule to February. He was granted a pass for a few hours to come home on Christmas to all be together for a few hours (a lot of crying was done that day when we had to say goodbye to him). When the skin biopsies showed that the cancer had survived, he was offered an alternative to chemotherapy. A targeted antibody treatment from the U.S. had been successful in treating these types of cases. Again special access to the medication was granted! Thank you to the Government of Canada and the U.S. for making this happen. Back in the hospital again this medication took a toll on Kyle mentally and physically. This drug ended up working, but in March Kyle was sent to the ICU unable to breathe and his heart struggling. But somehow he fought through everything and was cleared once again to do the transplant. So, the date was set once again, April 29, 2016.
He and I were both sent separate calendars of appointments and tests for the work up before the transplant. So, he and I had to go down to Calgary for a few nights in order to meet our doctors and nurses and do all of the tests. It was an emotional day for me, I cried the whole entire time and the doctors still ask Kyle about me and if I'm ok, and for those who know me, I do NOT cry about anything besides my brother.
Kyle found an apartment in Calgary close to the hospital, and one that was pet friendly, as he has 2 dogs, and that was very important for him to be able to see them when he was not in the hospital. He was to be at the hospital on April 21st and I was being admitted on the 28th. On Friday, April 22nd, the day before my Mum and I were planning on going down to Calgary, we once again were given bad news. The last medication that he was given really did a number on his liver and his liver was not strong enough to be survive the traditional chemotherapy used to condition his body for the new cells. He had three choices: 1) to keep him comfortable until the leukemia returned within 6 to 8 weeks, 2) to go ahead with the transplant with different conditioning to get him ready for the transplant with different chemotherapy that is not as hard on the liver, 3) to go ahead with the traditional transplant as planned with the greatest chance of remaining cancer-free in the long run, but the experts agreed that it was unlikely that Kyle would survive the first 30 days after the transplant.
We all sat in Calgary in the living room of his apartment and cried and talked about our options and let him decide what he wanted to do as he knows his body and we didn't want to put any pressure on him to make a decision. He decided option 2 and we went ahead with the transplant, April 29th will now be known as his "second" (or in my opinion, his first) birthday, as that is the day he was given a second chance at life. In the days following the transplant, Kyle’s life was again in danger. Even with all of the precautions taken, his liver was still struggling and he wasn’t able to breathe without oxygen. He also contracted a flu and with no immune system to fight it every day seemed to get worse. But then one morning he was a little bit better, and the next day again he was better. Thankfully, they did not need to put him on a ventilator which could have made recovery even harder. Kyle is still at risk but every day he proves that he is still the fighter that we have known all along.
Today (July 4th) is day 66 and we just celebrated his "first" birthday on Canada Day in Calgary, he was born July 1, 1984. For the first time in over 10 months he went to a restaurant with the whole family and we celebrated together. He had a lot of anxieties, being around that many people is hard for him because if he caught a common cold, he could be back in the hospital. But, he did it, he walked up the steps all by himself and it wore him out but he was the happiest I have seen him in almost a year.
This is where I am asking for help. He has been in and out of hospital since October of 2015 and hasn't been able to work and I would like to try and raise money for him to help pay his medical bills, the rent he is paying in Calgary and his own mortgage and bills he has to pay every month back here in Edmonton.
Any amount helps and when he is better and back home, he (or probably I) will give each and every one of you a BIG hug for any donation, no matter how small or big it is.
THANK YOU for listening to me, if you can't help, please feel free to pass this along to someone who possibly could.
I love you Kyle, I will always love you and now that we are one person we will forever be connected, even more so than we were before.