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This is my Uncles journey. He is highly loved and adored by everyone who has the privilege to know him and meet him. He is one of the owners of the "Promiscuous Fork" in La Jolla and Crown Point. His laugh and personality is contagious and my heart breaks daily for this fight he has to endure. Any and all help is welcomed and appreciated. Here is his story;
On Friday, December 9th 2016, Ray had a seizure that landed him into the ER by ambulance. They took him immediately to get a CT scan. After being there for about 45 min., he ended up having another seizure that landed him into the ICU. The Dr.s found "something" on his brain and took him in for an MRI. After waiting on results, we got the news that we dreaded. Ray was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (GBM). A very aggressive form of brain cancer. Ray went into his first surgery on Sunday, Dec 11th, to remove as much of the tumor that they could. The tumor sat on the left of the brain towards the front. The tumor affected his launguage and functioning of the right side of the body. About an hour after surgery, there was a small bleed and he was rushed into another CT. After a very terrifying string of events, the only thing we could do was wait. After Ray eventually came out of his anesthesia, we quickly realized that his speech was in fact, affected. As of now, Ray cannot talk.
Ray went in for his follow up MRI on Monday, Dec 12th. This MRI showed that there was still 1 cm cancer present. We decided to do another surgery. At 7:30 on Tuesday, Dec 13th, Ray went in for his 2nd surgery. The Neurosurgeon informed us that there wasn't actually the 1 cm of cancer present but more blood than anything. They were able to get over 90% of the tumor, which is great news! The 2nd surgery was a success and he is currently recovering in the ICU.
On December 20, Kathy, Bryon, Ashley and Ray went and spoke with Dr. David Piccioni, MD, PhD out of UCSD. Dr Piccioni is a neuro-oncologist and neurologist who specializes in primary and metastatic tumors of the brain. Dr Piccioni confirmed that Ray, indeed, has the most aggressive form of Glioblastoma. Even though we thought that this was the case, we were hoping that it wasn't. This news is not the best and it does move things along even faster.
Friday, December 23, Ray and the family will be going to UCSD to meet with the radiation oncologist. This is also the day we are looking to move Ray home. However, Kathy has had some major home issues and we aren't sure if we will be able to actually move him into the house. As I mentioned in the above posts, Kathy and Rays washer was leaking. However, it wasn't actually their washer but their piping. The water moved into the wall and formed mold and a team has come in and will rip up the walls and the floors to contain and remove the mold. This afternoon the team came in to test for lead and asbestos. They did confirm asbestos. Again, not the news we were wanting. Working with the clean up team, we are hoping to get Ray back into their house by Saturday.
In the coming weeks, Ray will be working with in-home therapies. Speech, physical and occcupational thereapy will be part of his everyday routine. After speaking with the Dr. today, they formed a plan for Ray for the next few weeks to a year. Ray will be starting radiation in about 3 weeks. The Dr. wanted to wait for his brain to heal, as this has been found to be the best way to tackle this type of cancer with the most promising results. Ray will also be doing chemotherapy in the form of a pill and talking an anti-nausea pill to counteract some of the side affects of the chemotherapy. The radiation will be Monday - Friday, traveling all the way to UCSD, for 4 - 6 weeks and the chemo will be 6 months to a year. The radiation is extremely precise and will be targeting that exact portion of the brain, only.
The family has also decided on additional clinical trials that have shown some promising results. One of the trials is called ICT 107. He is in the first round to see if he qualifies for this trial. Blood was taken today to see if he qualifies for this round of this trial. We need prayer and lots of prayer that he does get into this trial and that he is in the actual trial and not the placebo. There are many other options we are looking into as this progresses. We are still using diet to help as well.
I know many of you have expressed your willingness to help. We are SO appreciative of each and every one of you. Because we really didn't know what we needed help with, we were limited on what we could tell you we needed. We now know. As of now, its not looking like Ray will be able to work much, if at all. The costs of the numerous therapies, hospitalizations, tests, home issues, medication, treatments and food, are starting to pile up. The family has decided to start a "Go Fund Me". We greatly appreciate ANY donations that anyone can do to help. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers and thoughts. We are also asking for the continual limit on visitors. Ray is extremely exhausted after his therapies and we are trying to have him sleep as much as possible.
On Friday, December 9th 2016, Ray had a seizure that landed him into the ER by ambulance. They took him immediately to get a CT scan. After being there for about 45 min., he ended up having another seizure that landed him into the ICU. The Dr.s found "something" on his brain and took him in for an MRI. After waiting on results, we got the news that we dreaded. Ray was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (GBM). A very aggressive form of brain cancer. Ray went into his first surgery on Sunday, Dec 11th, to remove as much of the tumor that they could. The tumor sat on the left of the brain towards the front. The tumor affected his launguage and functioning of the right side of the body. About an hour after surgery, there was a small bleed and he was rushed into another CT. After a very terrifying string of events, the only thing we could do was wait. After Ray eventually came out of his anesthesia, we quickly realized that his speech was in fact, affected. As of now, Ray cannot talk.
Ray went in for his follow up MRI on Monday, Dec 12th. This MRI showed that there was still 1 cm cancer present. We decided to do another surgery. At 7:30 on Tuesday, Dec 13th, Ray went in for his 2nd surgery. The Neurosurgeon informed us that there wasn't actually the 1 cm of cancer present but more blood than anything. They were able to get over 90% of the tumor, which is great news! The 2nd surgery was a success and he is currently recovering in the ICU.
On December 20, Kathy, Bryon, Ashley and Ray went and spoke with Dr. David Piccioni, MD, PhD out of UCSD. Dr Piccioni is a neuro-oncologist and neurologist who specializes in primary and metastatic tumors of the brain. Dr Piccioni confirmed that Ray, indeed, has the most aggressive form of Glioblastoma. Even though we thought that this was the case, we were hoping that it wasn't. This news is not the best and it does move things along even faster.
Friday, December 23, Ray and the family will be going to UCSD to meet with the radiation oncologist. This is also the day we are looking to move Ray home. However, Kathy has had some major home issues and we aren't sure if we will be able to actually move him into the house. As I mentioned in the above posts, Kathy and Rays washer was leaking. However, it wasn't actually their washer but their piping. The water moved into the wall and formed mold and a team has come in and will rip up the walls and the floors to contain and remove the mold. This afternoon the team came in to test for lead and asbestos. They did confirm asbestos. Again, not the news we were wanting. Working with the clean up team, we are hoping to get Ray back into their house by Saturday.
In the coming weeks, Ray will be working with in-home therapies. Speech, physical and occcupational thereapy will be part of his everyday routine. After speaking with the Dr. today, they formed a plan for Ray for the next few weeks to a year. Ray will be starting radiation in about 3 weeks. The Dr. wanted to wait for his brain to heal, as this has been found to be the best way to tackle this type of cancer with the most promising results. Ray will also be doing chemotherapy in the form of a pill and talking an anti-nausea pill to counteract some of the side affects of the chemotherapy. The radiation will be Monday - Friday, traveling all the way to UCSD, for 4 - 6 weeks and the chemo will be 6 months to a year. The radiation is extremely precise and will be targeting that exact portion of the brain, only.
The family has also decided on additional clinical trials that have shown some promising results. One of the trials is called ICT 107. He is in the first round to see if he qualifies for this trial. Blood was taken today to see if he qualifies for this round of this trial. We need prayer and lots of prayer that he does get into this trial and that he is in the actual trial and not the placebo. There are many other options we are looking into as this progresses. We are still using diet to help as well.
I know many of you have expressed your willingness to help. We are SO appreciative of each and every one of you. Because we really didn't know what we needed help with, we were limited on what we could tell you we needed. We now know. As of now, its not looking like Ray will be able to work much, if at all. The costs of the numerous therapies, hospitalizations, tests, home issues, medication, treatments and food, are starting to pile up. The family has decided to start a "Go Fund Me". We greatly appreciate ANY donations that anyone can do to help. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers and thoughts. We are also asking for the continual limit on visitors. Ray is extremely exhausted after his therapies and we are trying to have him sleep as much as possible.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ray Penfield
Beneficiary