In Loving Memory of Murilo

It’s with a heavy heart that we received news this morning of our beloved friend Murillo’s passing. He was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday and passed away in his home early Thursday morning. Murillo was a kind soul with big laugh and even bigger heart. He is survived by his two sons, two grandsons, his partner, and many life long friends.

He lost his battle with cancer but his family still needs our support.

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Murilo is a 60 year old man, whose life was turned upside down when he found out he had stomach cancer in December 2021.

He started his first cycle of chemotherapy in April 2022 and by June, the doctors were able to shrink the cancer enough that surgery was an option. In June 2022 Murillo underwent a partial gastrectomy where 3/4 of his stomach and part of his liver was removed. After surgery, Murillo had 4 more rounds of chemo and was able to ring the bell in December 2022. He was able to spend the holidays celebrating his victory and his health with his family. After a year of not being able to work, just when Murilo thought the fight was over and he could go back to work as a window washer, he started experiencing extreme pain again in February 2023.

Murilo has been in and out of the hospital since February with extreme pain, vomiting and weakness. After months of testing, his scans have all appeared to be clear of cancer but his pain and vomiting have continued to worsen. Murilo’s hasn’t been able to keep any food down for weeks now. He finds himself in the hospital multiple times a week for fluids. He is undergoing a series of additional tests this week to determine if exploratory surgery is the best option at this point, and if he is strong enough to handle that.

Murilo has been scraping by for a year with the help of a few friends and family, but his battle is far from over, so we decided to start this page for him. Murilo is a kind a gentle person who would take the shirt off his back to help anyone in need and now he needs our help more than ever. If you can find it in your hearts to help Murilo keep fighting this horrible disease, any contribution will be very much appreciated.

***UPDATE***

After months of scans and repeated biopsies, it’s been confirmed that Murillo’s cancer is back. This time the cancer is in his peritoneum, which is the thin membrane that hold all of the internal organs in the abdomen, like the stomach, liver, pancreas and intestines. Murilo started chemo again last week, but doctors have confirmed he is not a candidate for any additional surgeries. The road ahead of him is long, and he may never be able to eat solid foods ever again. Going back to work any time soon is not an option. If you can find it in your hearts to help Murillo keep fighting, any contribution will be very much appreciated.

*** UPDATE***

After finding out in May that his cancer was spreading, murillo started chemo again. After his last chemo session he just wasn’t recovering from the side effects in the usual timeframe. He returned to the hospital on august 10th when could not stop vomiting and had a persistent fever. There the doctors discovered that he has an infection that has spread to his blood. Murillo has decompensated significantly since and is still hospitalized while he receives IV antibiotics. All chemotherapy has been stopped until he recovers from the infection and regains some strength. We fear that the cancer may start to spread again if Murilo doesn’t start chemo again soon.