I'm laying down any pride and putting this out there on behalf of my family. We have just received head spinning and dire news bout my Dad; he has terminal metastatic renal cell carcinoma. It started in his kidney, moved to his liver,  lungs, and has found a home on the right side of his brain. He has 23 tumors/lesions total. All this was discovered on 3/28 from an ER visit. My dad's health had been questionable and declining during the month of March. Fatigue, not eating, not wanting to do the things he loves, not talking, just laying in bed a lot. We had labs drawn and they were pretty normal but we were still concerned so we made an office visit with his PCP for Friday 3/31. We didn't make it. The ED visit was necessary because we were afraid he was going to die in bed from his failure to thrive condition. We never thought his diagnosis would be this bad. 
        We have been informed by his hospital team of physicians that this type of cancer is resistant to treatment and there is NO cure.  There are options to try and keep it stable at the level it is but we are on borrowed time till his cancer really takes over.  Right now he is on a scheduled regimen of steroids for the brain swelling, seizure medication, blood pressure medication, and insulin to control his diabetes. This is what we are currently doing for him now to keep him comfortable. Other game plans haven't been decided yet because there is another hurdle we have to overcome. 
        My dad must have thought he was invincible because not only did he not do regular hearth check ups but he also didn't prepare for the unexpected. My dad doesn't have health insurance nor does he have any savings/life insurance in place. So all care will be up to us, his family, to financially come up with. We are not rich and my mom is retired so you get the picture. We will do our best but we need help. We need help to pay for medication and treatments now and the assisted living /hospice care that will come later. When I say later I really mean soon  because we have been given a timeline of 3-20 months that his condition could turn for the worse. Our current lives are not going to be the same while we deal with this heartbreaking situation but afterwards as well. My mom's life is going to change the most because she most likely will have to walk away from our house when all is said and done. My childhood home. So not only do I want to take care of my dad while he is still feeling like himself and here at home but I want to help my mom too. 
        I hope I was able to convey the seriousness of our situation and touch a couple hearts at the same time. We are a close family and we are banding together till the end. We're not spending every moment being sad because there are great things about my dad I like to think about instead. My dad is a Tucson native and loves the UofA so he was very proud of me when I graduated from there. He also is very proud of my brother who is thriving as an active duty member of the ARMY. My dad has been a UofA football ticket holder for decades and loves all sports, even hockey lol. He coached me and my brother on countless sports teams when we were kids and he always came to our school's games and my orchestra concerts growing up. He is an avid Raider fan and we were fortunate to go to their home opener game last season as a family and he and my brother went again in December because they had such a good time at the last game. He also loves live music and especially the Grateful Dead. He was always attending shows around the country and also supported the local music scene here in town. That is something my brother and I got from him. I can definitely say my dad lived his life his way and to the fullest. I hope we can give him a matching quality of life in his remaining time with us.
Thank you sincerely from our family to yours-The Encinas Family