Rally for Rob - Edmonton
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Rob Bishop is a 41 year old single father to a nine year old girl named Sophie.
Ten years ago, Rob thought he was having a heart attack. He went to the hospital to discover that he was suffering from a thymus cancer called Thymoma.
The thymus is a small organ located just behind the breast bone in the front part of the chest. It sits just in front of and above the heart. It is an important part of the body's immune system. During fetal development and childhood, the thymus is involved in the production and maturation of T lymphocytes (also known a T cells), a type of white blood cells. They help the immune system protect the body from viruses, fungus and other types of infection. Thymus cancers are rare. They occur at a rate of only 1.5 cases for every million people each year in the USA .
The thymus reaches its maximum weight of about one ounce during puberty and then it decreases in size during adulthood as it is replaced by fat tissue. In Rob's case, the thymus was never replaced by fat tissue. It was the size of a man's fist when it was removed.
Because Thymoma is so rare there is no set treatment for it. Every treatment is experimental, so the doctors are basically learning how to treat this disease each time Rob has a reoccurring tumor. In the past ten years, Rob has undergone 8 surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.
Each time his doctors find another tumor somewhere in his chest, Rob once again goes through the stress of worrying about the surgery, how it will physically effect him, how long he will be off work and how he will be able to provide for his daughter. Each time, it is harder to recover both physically and financially.
Because of all the stress to his body from the treatments, worrying if and when he will be able to work and paying the bills, Rob has also developed Addison's Disease.
Addison's Disease is also rare. It is a hormonal disorder which affects approximately 1- 2 per100,000 people. It is caused mainly by the auto-immune reaction of your body trauma with hemorrhage into the adrenals and areas of surgery. Fungal infections as well as carcinoma can also be the cause. As far as hitting the rare disease lottery, Rob has hit the jackpot.
With all that Rob has going against him, he is a fighter. He says he won't ever quit fighting to live for his little girl. He wants to give Sophie the things she should have. I don't know if they have ever been able to go on a holiday, as it is pretty hard to do with doctor appointments, financial strains and recovering from the surgeries.
Rob is such a good Dad; he doesn't drink, do drugs or spend money foolishly. He spends as much quality time with Sophie because he know that nothing should be taken for granted.
Last month, during his 3 month check up, two new tumors were found. He is scheduled to have surgery again next week.
It is hard to see this young man struggle to survive, to try to keep up with his bills, and to be upbeat so his daughter doesn't realize how dire things really are.
He has done nothing to deserve these illnesses. He has struggled for the last 10 years battling a disease that will someday develop into a tumor that will be inoperable since this is an incurable disease. He really needs a break and something good to happen in his life.
We are asking that you please find it in your heart to make a personal gift to Rob for whatever you can comfortably give and to pass this message along to everyone you know.
Thank you so very much.
Ten years ago, Rob thought he was having a heart attack. He went to the hospital to discover that he was suffering from a thymus cancer called Thymoma.
The thymus is a small organ located just behind the breast bone in the front part of the chest. It sits just in front of and above the heart. It is an important part of the body's immune system. During fetal development and childhood, the thymus is involved in the production and maturation of T lymphocytes (also known a T cells), a type of white blood cells. They help the immune system protect the body from viruses, fungus and other types of infection. Thymus cancers are rare. They occur at a rate of only 1.5 cases for every million people each year in the USA .
The thymus reaches its maximum weight of about one ounce during puberty and then it decreases in size during adulthood as it is replaced by fat tissue. In Rob's case, the thymus was never replaced by fat tissue. It was the size of a man's fist when it was removed.
Because Thymoma is so rare there is no set treatment for it. Every treatment is experimental, so the doctors are basically learning how to treat this disease each time Rob has a reoccurring tumor. In the past ten years, Rob has undergone 8 surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.
Each time his doctors find another tumor somewhere in his chest, Rob once again goes through the stress of worrying about the surgery, how it will physically effect him, how long he will be off work and how he will be able to provide for his daughter. Each time, it is harder to recover both physically and financially.
Because of all the stress to his body from the treatments, worrying if and when he will be able to work and paying the bills, Rob has also developed Addison's Disease.
Addison's Disease is also rare. It is a hormonal disorder which affects approximately 1- 2 per100,000 people. It is caused mainly by the auto-immune reaction of your body trauma with hemorrhage into the adrenals and areas of surgery. Fungal infections as well as carcinoma can also be the cause. As far as hitting the rare disease lottery, Rob has hit the jackpot.
With all that Rob has going against him, he is a fighter. He says he won't ever quit fighting to live for his little girl. He wants to give Sophie the things she should have. I don't know if they have ever been able to go on a holiday, as it is pretty hard to do with doctor appointments, financial strains and recovering from the surgeries.
Rob is such a good Dad; he doesn't drink, do drugs or spend money foolishly. He spends as much quality time with Sophie because he know that nothing should be taken for granted.
Last month, during his 3 month check up, two new tumors were found. He is scheduled to have surgery again next week.
It is hard to see this young man struggle to survive, to try to keep up with his bills, and to be upbeat so his daughter doesn't realize how dire things really are.
He has done nothing to deserve these illnesses. He has struggled for the last 10 years battling a disease that will someday develop into a tumor that will be inoperable since this is an incurable disease. He really needs a break and something good to happen in his life.
We are asking that you please find it in your heart to make a personal gift to Rob for whatever you can comfortably give and to pass this message along to everyone you know.
Thank you so very much.
Organizer
Joan Isaac
Organizer
Edmonton, AB