No One Fights Cancer Alone
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THE BEGINNING..... (scroll down for the newest update)
Ross is a loving husband, father, son, grandson, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend. He's your typical outdoorsman...loves hunting, fishing, baseball with the kids, & riding his Harley. He has a passion for his career & is proud to be a Union welder. In January of this 2016, Ross received bad news from his doctor following a biopsy done of a suspicious tumor that had ulcerated on his leg.
He was diagnosed with stage 2 malignant melanoma. Within days, he was meeting with the head of oncology & a surgeon at The University of Penn. After a battle with the insurance company, endless phone calls, a series of tests, labs, & scans it was also discovered that he had a large growth on his thyroid which has caused his trachea to deviate. They set a plan into motion and in early February he underwent surgery. He had a wide excision done on his leg & a lymph node dissection of the groin. Ross had to take off from work the entire month in order to allow his incisions to heal properly.
On February 16th, Ross & Natalie met with the oncologist again. They were hoping & praying for a positive outcome. Nothing could have prepared them for the devastating news that they were about to receive. The pathology report showed that the cancer had spread into the lymph nodes. Ross is now at stage 3. Once cancer spreads to the lymphatic system it can spread to other organs such as the lungs, liver, brain, & bones. Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive form of cancer that many people are not familiar with. Advanced stage melanoma is treated with immunotherapy drugs.
Ross has made the decision to receive these IV infusions with hopes of stopping the cancer from spreading any further. Unfortunately, with this treatment come some very severe side effects, some life threatening. He will need to be closely monitored during this time. This beautiful, loving family has a long road ahead of them.
We are seeking help from from family and friends. Having less stress from financial burdens will help greatly during this difficult time. In addition to the mounting medical bills, many other costs associated with this life altering diagnosis have come up. This has really taken an emotional & financial toll on the family. The main focus is to get Ross into remission. A cancer diagnosis is not the end; it is only the beginning of different chapter. No one fights cancer alone. Thank you and God Bless.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY!
The battle continues written by his beautiful and amazing wife....
I am sitting here awake listening to my husband snore. The same exact sound that I cringed over a few days ago is oddly keeping me at peace right now. Life has taken a dramatically dark turn in no time at all. Last week we were celebrating Halloween with our friends & kids and tonight he’s lying in ICU preparing for his biggest fight yet. How is it even possible for a man that just worked overtime & went out for a motorcycle ride to be this sick. We were always well aware that Ross would never be cured completely of cancer and that he’d be on some type of treatment for the better part of his life. Life doesn’t stop there. It’s been a tricky 2 years of ups & downs but we have been living as we should! We go to work, parent our children, take vacations, go on bike rides, do homework, go out with friends, and everything else a “normal” family does. We even fight & yes, I kick him every single night to stop snoring. After having an almost miraculous response to a clinical trial used to shrink lung tumors, we are back to the drawing board. That sneaky bitch of a cancer has spread to his brain. He has several rapid growing brain tumors that have messed with the wrong guy. At some point today he will be undergoing brain surgery to remove 2 of the largest tumors. Shortly after, he will start gamma radiation followed by infusions... again. I don’t claim to be an expert but this is not my first rodeo. We are super blessed to have the continued support of the most wonderful oncologist there is. The woman is relentless & changing the world. So, who does the head of hematology oncology call when one of her favorite patients needs a new plan? None other than the University of Penn’s Chief of Neurosurgery, of course. I’m confident in the team of doctors & somewhat less stressed now that we have a plan of attack. I will try to post updates but I’m tired & we have a very long road ahead of us. Together with the support of out families & amazing friends... we get to beat the beast. I appreciate everyone that has called or texted and offered prayers. Ross can speak but his words are slurred & he is easily confused. He is not allowed to be sedated or put on any meds that may alter his brain due to the fact that they are doing constant neuro checks & need to watch for progression. So, I have turned off his phone to keep the distractions away. I promise to pass along every single message to him!
PLEASE HELP THEM
UPDATE.....written by Natalie on December 27, 2018
This afternoon my love earned his angel wings. He went out on his terms. He was surrounded by our beautiful, loving family. Ross put up one hell of a battle. During the past two years we have grown closer to one another and formed a stronger bond. Our relationship was unique. We were funny together. We were cracking jokes right up until the end (some can be shared, others are inappropriate lol). He is my best friend & the love of my life. I will miss him terribly every single day. There is no greater gift that I could give him than to honor his wishes. Ross was a wonderful father & made one hell of a partner. I will get to see him everyday when I look into the faces of our beautiful children. He was the strongest person in the world... literally... both in body and mind. I know that he thought the same of me. He looked at me the other day with such awe & could not believe how I was handling everything. No matter how unfair things may be, we are not bitter people. We rolled with the punches. We held hands during the darkest times & embraced the beauty in each day. What a mark he left on this earth. I know that he is watching over us & guiding me. I’d love to thank everyone for the love & support.
Ross is a loving husband, father, son, grandson, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend. He's your typical outdoorsman...loves hunting, fishing, baseball with the kids, & riding his Harley. He has a passion for his career & is proud to be a Union welder. In January of this 2016, Ross received bad news from his doctor following a biopsy done of a suspicious tumor that had ulcerated on his leg.
He was diagnosed with stage 2 malignant melanoma. Within days, he was meeting with the head of oncology & a surgeon at The University of Penn. After a battle with the insurance company, endless phone calls, a series of tests, labs, & scans it was also discovered that he had a large growth on his thyroid which has caused his trachea to deviate. They set a plan into motion and in early February he underwent surgery. He had a wide excision done on his leg & a lymph node dissection of the groin. Ross had to take off from work the entire month in order to allow his incisions to heal properly.
On February 16th, Ross & Natalie met with the oncologist again. They were hoping & praying for a positive outcome. Nothing could have prepared them for the devastating news that they were about to receive. The pathology report showed that the cancer had spread into the lymph nodes. Ross is now at stage 3. Once cancer spreads to the lymphatic system it can spread to other organs such as the lungs, liver, brain, & bones. Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive form of cancer that many people are not familiar with. Advanced stage melanoma is treated with immunotherapy drugs.
Ross has made the decision to receive these IV infusions with hopes of stopping the cancer from spreading any further. Unfortunately, with this treatment come some very severe side effects, some life threatening. He will need to be closely monitored during this time. This beautiful, loving family has a long road ahead of them.
We are seeking help from from family and friends. Having less stress from financial burdens will help greatly during this difficult time. In addition to the mounting medical bills, many other costs associated with this life altering diagnosis have come up. This has really taken an emotional & financial toll on the family. The main focus is to get Ross into remission. A cancer diagnosis is not the end; it is only the beginning of different chapter. No one fights cancer alone. Thank you and God Bless.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY!
The battle continues written by his beautiful and amazing wife....
I am sitting here awake listening to my husband snore. The same exact sound that I cringed over a few days ago is oddly keeping me at peace right now. Life has taken a dramatically dark turn in no time at all. Last week we were celebrating Halloween with our friends & kids and tonight he’s lying in ICU preparing for his biggest fight yet. How is it even possible for a man that just worked overtime & went out for a motorcycle ride to be this sick. We were always well aware that Ross would never be cured completely of cancer and that he’d be on some type of treatment for the better part of his life. Life doesn’t stop there. It’s been a tricky 2 years of ups & downs but we have been living as we should! We go to work, parent our children, take vacations, go on bike rides, do homework, go out with friends, and everything else a “normal” family does. We even fight & yes, I kick him every single night to stop snoring. After having an almost miraculous response to a clinical trial used to shrink lung tumors, we are back to the drawing board. That sneaky bitch of a cancer has spread to his brain. He has several rapid growing brain tumors that have messed with the wrong guy. At some point today he will be undergoing brain surgery to remove 2 of the largest tumors. Shortly after, he will start gamma radiation followed by infusions... again. I don’t claim to be an expert but this is not my first rodeo. We are super blessed to have the continued support of the most wonderful oncologist there is. The woman is relentless & changing the world. So, who does the head of hematology oncology call when one of her favorite patients needs a new plan? None other than the University of Penn’s Chief of Neurosurgery, of course. I’m confident in the team of doctors & somewhat less stressed now that we have a plan of attack. I will try to post updates but I’m tired & we have a very long road ahead of us. Together with the support of out families & amazing friends... we get to beat the beast. I appreciate everyone that has called or texted and offered prayers. Ross can speak but his words are slurred & he is easily confused. He is not allowed to be sedated or put on any meds that may alter his brain due to the fact that they are doing constant neuro checks & need to watch for progression. So, I have turned off his phone to keep the distractions away. I promise to pass along every single message to him!
PLEASE HELP THEM
UPDATE.....written by Natalie on December 27, 2018
This afternoon my love earned his angel wings. He went out on his terms. He was surrounded by our beautiful, loving family. Ross put up one hell of a battle. During the past two years we have grown closer to one another and formed a stronger bond. Our relationship was unique. We were funny together. We were cracking jokes right up until the end (some can be shared, others are inappropriate lol). He is my best friend & the love of my life. I will miss him terribly every single day. There is no greater gift that I could give him than to honor his wishes. Ross was a wonderful father & made one hell of a partner. I will get to see him everyday when I look into the faces of our beautiful children. He was the strongest person in the world... literally... both in body and mind. I know that he thought the same of me. He looked at me the other day with such awe & could not believe how I was handling everything. No matter how unfair things may be, we are not bitter people. We rolled with the punches. We held hands during the darkest times & embraced the beauty in each day. What a mark he left on this earth. I know that he is watching over us & guiding me. I’d love to thank everyone for the love & support.
Organizer
Anna Pinkham
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA