A Father's Fight Against Cancer
When cancer strikes, it is never easy, and a 28 year old father of three, is just beginning his long battle.
My name is Kaitie Melo and Andrew is like a brother to me and I consider him and his three beautiful children aged 8, 7, and 4, family. I am blessed enough to have these angels call me Aunty.
On August 20th, Andrew dropped these kids off with their mother and headed to the emergency room due to severe pain. Blood work and a CT were completed and things were not looking good but the emergency room doctor couldn't tell us much. Andrew was referred to a Urologist the very next day , and that is when we got some of the hardest news we had ever received. Cancer. Testicular. Surgery. Chemo. Radiation? Sick leave? Insurance? Lots of questions, very little answers. Andrew had his first invasive procedure, surgery, August 23rd to have a testicle removed. He hasn’t been able to pick up and play with his children properly since. In these last few weeks, there have been to numerous Doctors’ appointments and tests including a trip to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. We now know that though the cancer started as testicular cancer, it has spread to his liver and his lymph nodes. A PICC line was inserted and aggressive chemo started September 11th, beginning at five days a week, four-five hours a day. He has to follow a very specific medication routine, including daily injections to keep his blood from clotting while receiving chemo. Andrew is only in the beginning of his battle against cancer. He will have a minimum of 3 months of a chemotherapy regimen that may need to be followed by surgery and radiation and possibly more chemo. We have no idea how long he is going to be fighting this fight.
Andrew, of course, cannot work and he needs to be able to help support his children, not to mention so many other expenses like parking, vehicle insurance, vehicle payments and the list goes on. Close family and friends have been helping with payments at this time, but we can only do so much. If you think you can help in any way, even in a little way - It is all so greatly appreciated! We aspire to raise enough money to help Andrew with his expenses and if there is any left after this nightmare is over, it would be put towards the children’s future, a future we want to see Andrew in for a very long time. Thank you all in advance, your support means the world to us.
