Bob loses his fight with cancer

On September 19, 2023 Bob’s courages battle with cancer came to an end.

https://www.flannerbuchanan.com/obituaries/robert-metrick

For those that don't know, my brother-in law,Bob, is fighting lung cancer for the 3rd time. He was first diagnosed in November 2017. At that time, he underwent a lobectomy and chemotherapy. October 2019, was his first recurrence when he endured chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.

In August of 2020 my sister, brother-in law and their 3 kids moved to Indiana for a change and to be closer to better cancer centers.

In March of 2022, a routine CT scan showed a lymphnode between the lungs that looked abnormal. A biopsy confirmed lung cancer was back for the 3rd time after being dormant for a little over 2 years.

Treatment this time was 2 chemotherapy drugs for 6 rounds. On the 3rd treatment, he had a horrible reaction to one of the chemo drugs. This limited the continued treatments he could receive.

The CT scan in September 2022 showed an increase in size of the lymphnode. The Oncologist in Indiana suggested Bob and Jenn go to St. Louis and Columbus to see if Bob was eligible for any clinical trials because he was not responding to available treatments.

After visiting both cities, Bob and Jenn decided to seek further treatment in a clinical trial in Columbus at OSU. The plan was to remove most of the cancerous lymphnode from between the lungs, harvest the T cells that fight the cancer, multiple them and then freeze them for use later if the cancer spread or returned. The procedure is called a TIL. During some pre-testing for surgery, 2 small tumors were discovered on Bob's brain. Those tumors quickly caused swelling in his brain which caused him to collapse and lose feeling and function on the left side of his body on Dec 16th which put him in the hospital for a few days.

Bob had radiation to his brain tumors on December 21, 22 and 27 at OSU. He had 1 tumor removed from his brain on December 27. He is going through physical therapy to regain full function.

As if this family hasn't been through enough, it was just discovered that the cancer has now spread to the liver and Bob will have to undergo another surgery to remove the tumor from his liver. Bob has been unable to work since his hospitalization in mid December and has exhausted all paid time off and is not eligible for short or long term disability.

I'm asking for any help for my wonderful brother-in law, sister and their family. Bob and Jenn will have to continue to make many trips back and forth from Indiana to Ohio. In addition to at least 1 more surgery and hospital stay, they also have multiple unpaid medical bills and I'm hoping to ease some of the financial burdens so Bob can concentrate on fighting and healing and my sister can be there with him. Any help is greatly appreciated.