UPDATE; Roman is still recovering from his 17.5 hour surgery at the National Institute of Health on September 13th. During the surgery the doctors removed the Peritoneal Mesothelioma tumors at his pelvis that were the primary issue, as well as other cancerous tumors in the area. They also removed the entire lining to his intestinal cavity, his appendix, his gallbladder, and about 18" of colon. During the surgery the doctor also did what they called "shake and bake", where they poured chemo directly into the intestinal cavity where it stayed for 2 hours in an attempt to kill any microbes of cancer. This was a cutting-edge, high-risk surgery done by the world's best surgeons in this type of cancer. As you can see in the picture, Roman is now recovering and hopes to be home soon. But the reality is that the battle has just begun. (For more information on Roman and his battle with Peritoneal Mesothelioma, please read the original post below.)

Dear friends and family, one of our own is in a battle for his life. In January of this year, around the time of his 21st birthday, Roman Aloisio was told the three words none of us want to hear, "you have cancer". To make matters worse, the type of cancer he has is Peritoneal Mesothelioma, an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer that affects the lining of the abdomen and surrounding organs. According to M.D. Anderson, only about 300 to 500 cases of peritoneal mesothelioma occur in the US each year. The vast majority of these 300- 500 annual cases are in people far older than Roman (he is expected to be one of the very youngest to contract this disease this year).

Because of the rarity of the disease and Roman's young age, Roman has been accepted as a patient by the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD (NIH), the premier facility in the United States for treatment and research of mesothelioma cancer. NIH is teaming with Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa for the portion of the protocol that can be administered here. Currently Roman is in Tulsa where he is periodically having toxic fluid drained from his abdomen, and has started aggressive chemotherapy in an effort to reduce the size of the tumor so that it can be removed by the NIH team in Maryland. The process and recovery are expected to take several months, if not years.

Contributions will go toward the expenses that have just begun to add up - deductibles, travel, special diet and vitamins, to name a few. Your prayers and donations of any amount are truly appreciated by Roman and his family.

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"Life isn't fair, but that doesn't mean we can't fight back."