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You never forget the day a family member calls you to tell you they have cancer. I know I won’t. In January I was coaching basketball and noticed I had a missed call from my brother Russell. Russell and I chat often enough that it didn’t take me by surprise and it was easy to call him back. But this phone call was different. The kind you play out in your mind occasionally but at the same time try to forget.
He told me how he had a lump. That he had it checked out. And that the doctor said it was most likely Testicular Cancer.
My siblings frequently call me about stuff and usually I’m full of questions. But this time I was totally caught off guard. Russell is a healthy guy. He is a young guy. 33. He is a fit and active. But cancer doesn’t care about that stuff.
I’m still not really sure what I said. But he told me about the round of Doctors appointments to follow and the plan. He asked for prayers for his wife and kids. I started to tear up.
He is a husband, his wife Holly is an amazing woman. He is a Dad, his 2 kids Lolei and Kyuzo have such fun personalities, they kill me with their cuteness.
All I could think was please God, don’t let it spread, please don’t have already spread, please don’t make it super bad already. That was a terrible phone call. Maybe the worst one yet.
Russell’s doctors immediately started scans, MRI’s, xrays, blood tests, tests and more test... which suggested the same conclusion. He was set to have surgery to have the potentially cancerous lump removed.
I’m grateful for a brother who lightened the mood with some basic inappropriate “balls” jokes.
On January 23rd Russell sent us a picture of him in an extremely pastel purple hospital gown (the pic ) and he was off to surgery. We waited and prayed and finally heard that they removed the lump. Now it was wait for the results and recovery time.
So, we Chun’s, we’re not so good at resting. And, just for fun, Russell and the kids got the flu. (I hear vomiting after surgery is not that awesome.) Holly earned an extra “wing in her eternal mansion” for the time she spent serving her family during this time. But before you knew it Russell was moving around and back to work. He had a couple hard days which should probably still have been spent in bed... but duty callled and he responded with a 10-4. (That was my attempt at a law inforcement joke... I’ll keep my day job).
The biopsy results came in and confirmed. It was cancer. 100% positive.
So Russell went in for a full body scans. This was the scariest part, did it spread? Our families’ prayers were sincere, heartfelt, and possibly even pleading and we were blessed with only the peace God can bring when times are tough.
The scan came back aaaaaand .... they did NOT find anything!!!!!
A sigh of relief would be an understatement. It was a day of unloading the bricks off of the shoulders and feeling lighter. Feeling like it was ok to breathe again.
Next up Russell decided to pick up a sock. Yes, a sock. And bam! His back went out. An awesome hereditary Chun feature is a lousy back (being tall isn’t always a great thing). Off to the doctor, neurologist and being prescribed some pain meds. While on these meds Russell started having extreme chest pains so I’m March 31st they headed to the ER.
The next part... The next part is where we are at today. During the MRI they found the source of Russell’s chest pain wasn’t back or medicine related.
It is Cancer.
It has spread through his blood stream and he has now developed small cancerous nodules in his chest that will require chemo. Tests, needles, xrays, and scans, that’s about where we’re at.
So, friends, but more importantly friends of Russell, as you can imagine, the medical bills are high and it isn’t over yet. Helping them relieve the finances allows Russell, his amazing wife, and family to focus on his health and not money junk. Please consider donating to this fundraiser generously. But if that’s not available to you, please consider giving a tiny bit. Every little bit will help them. Donations will help pay for their Deductible, co-pays for doctors and medications.
Pray for Russell, Holly, Lolei, and Kyuzo. Pray for the doctors, his supportive employer, and family.
Mahalo ❤️
He told me how he had a lump. That he had it checked out. And that the doctor said it was most likely Testicular Cancer.
My siblings frequently call me about stuff and usually I’m full of questions. But this time I was totally caught off guard. Russell is a healthy guy. He is a young guy. 33. He is a fit and active. But cancer doesn’t care about that stuff.
I’m still not really sure what I said. But he told me about the round of Doctors appointments to follow and the plan. He asked for prayers for his wife and kids. I started to tear up.
He is a husband, his wife Holly is an amazing woman. He is a Dad, his 2 kids Lolei and Kyuzo have such fun personalities, they kill me with their cuteness.
All I could think was please God, don’t let it spread, please don’t have already spread, please don’t make it super bad already. That was a terrible phone call. Maybe the worst one yet.
Russell’s doctors immediately started scans, MRI’s, xrays, blood tests, tests and more test... which suggested the same conclusion. He was set to have surgery to have the potentially cancerous lump removed.
I’m grateful for a brother who lightened the mood with some basic inappropriate “balls” jokes.
On January 23rd Russell sent us a picture of him in an extremely pastel purple hospital gown (the pic ) and he was off to surgery. We waited and prayed and finally heard that they removed the lump. Now it was wait for the results and recovery time.
So, we Chun’s, we’re not so good at resting. And, just for fun, Russell and the kids got the flu. (I hear vomiting after surgery is not that awesome.) Holly earned an extra “wing in her eternal mansion” for the time she spent serving her family during this time. But before you knew it Russell was moving around and back to work. He had a couple hard days which should probably still have been spent in bed... but duty callled and he responded with a 10-4. (That was my attempt at a law inforcement joke... I’ll keep my day job).
The biopsy results came in and confirmed. It was cancer. 100% positive.
So Russell went in for a full body scans. This was the scariest part, did it spread? Our families’ prayers were sincere, heartfelt, and possibly even pleading and we were blessed with only the peace God can bring when times are tough.
The scan came back aaaaaand .... they did NOT find anything!!!!!
A sigh of relief would be an understatement. It was a day of unloading the bricks off of the shoulders and feeling lighter. Feeling like it was ok to breathe again.
Next up Russell decided to pick up a sock. Yes, a sock. And bam! His back went out. An awesome hereditary Chun feature is a lousy back (being tall isn’t always a great thing). Off to the doctor, neurologist and being prescribed some pain meds. While on these meds Russell started having extreme chest pains so I’m March 31st they headed to the ER.
The next part... The next part is where we are at today. During the MRI they found the source of Russell’s chest pain wasn’t back or medicine related.
It is Cancer.
It has spread through his blood stream and he has now developed small cancerous nodules in his chest that will require chemo. Tests, needles, xrays, and scans, that’s about where we’re at.
So, friends, but more importantly friends of Russell, as you can imagine, the medical bills are high and it isn’t over yet. Helping them relieve the finances allows Russell, his amazing wife, and family to focus on his health and not money junk. Please consider donating to this fundraiser generously. But if that’s not available to you, please consider giving a tiny bit. Every little bit will help them. Donations will help pay for their Deductible, co-pays for doctors and medications.
Pray for Russell, Holly, Lolei, and Kyuzo. Pray for the doctors, his supportive employer, and family.
Mahalo ❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Holly Chun
Beneficiary