Gene’s Fight against EC

Gene’s story: Last Christmas, my dad came to visit and spent the night Christmas eve into Christmas morning. He began complaining about pain in his stomach. He could barely eat or drink due to the pain. Despite the pain he was feeling, he stayed because he wanted to see the joy on his grand children’s face when they woke up christmas morning.

He went to his doctor as soon as he could and was sent for an endoscopy. They found a concerning tumor in his lower esophagus and the biopsy revealed esophageal adenocarcinoma. That’s when he was referred to Fox Chase Cancer Center for further testing. After weeks of many scans, procedures and lab work we anxiously waited for the results and hoped for the best. 

February 25th we met with the oncologist who gave us news that would forever change our lives. He was told the cancer spread to multiple areas in his lungs, liver, pancreas, lymph nodes, prostate and left adrenal gland; he has metastatic stage IV esophageal adenocarcinoma and he is terminal. He was told he can do radiation to shrink the tumor so he can eat and alleviate some of the pain he has. He will then do chemotherapy every 2 weeks to manage his symptoms. We will continue to stay hopeful through this journey.

Any of you who know my dad, know that he has a huge heart, especially his love for animals. He hates needles and hospitals but he wants to fight this and beat the odds to watch his grandchildren grow and continue to do what he loves. He probably would not want me to begin this go fund me but me and my family want him to fight, and know that many people support him and to not worry so much about the expenses from medical bills and just focus on fighting.