Allow me to tell you a little bit about my friend, Mitchell Yeoh. I was first introduced to Mitchell as the older brother of one of my piano students, Mason Yeoh. On the surface, Mitchell is a Harvard-bound, brilliant, kind, young man whose ability to play the piano matched the talent of some of the greatest performers you’ll ever meet. He is a friend of languages, is able to sight read music within minutes, can recite the digits of π (to practically the 31st trillionth digit), but above all, I know him to be the best older brother and oldest son to the dear Yeoh family.
As I was able to learn more about Mitchell and work with him musically, I also came to know more about Mitchell’s life story and the health struggles he went through, from infancy to present day. Mitchell was born chronically ill with rare genetic diseases: Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease and Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis, among other conditions. These affect, among other organs, his kidneys and liver. Mitchell is a recipient of two kidney transplants and one liver transplant. He is on anti-rejection medications which lead him to be constantly susceptible to infections and infectious diseases.
It is with much heartbreak to share that Mitchell is now facing another hurdle: he has cancer. He has monomorphic diffuse large B cell lymphoma or PTLD (post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder). This was discovered after concerns about Mitchell’s rapid weight loss, which resulted in an endoscopy, colonoscopy and biopsy, followed by a PetScan and ultrasound.
Mitchell’s doctors also found nodules in Mitchell’s thyroid. They cannot do a biopsy at this time, but they plan to do a biopsy in the near future, when the white and red blood cells look better. Also, it is possible to develop a secondary cancer like leukemia during chemotherapy.
Mitchell has started chemotherapy at Yale New Haven.
Let’s all come together as a community of friends and family to support, pray, uplift, encourage, and give help to Mitchell, as he and his family face this difficult journey. While many of the medical costs are covered by health insurance, there are a lot of out-of-pocket expenses associated with Mitchell’s ongoing treatments.
Mitchell, we all love you and are rooting for you!!