Seth Christmas

Our brother, Seth Christmas, was recently diagnosed with stage four adenocarcinoma. 

His symptoms started just after Christmas but really triggered around the beginning of March.  Thinking it was just a bad ulcer, his pain began to get progressively worse forcing him to visit a doctor.  After visiting with a gastroenterologist, some blood tests and eventually a CT scan were performed, the tests showed masses in both his chest and abdomen as well as a high white blood cell count.

From there, Seth went to Dartmouth Hitchcock for an endoscopy to perform biopsies to see if the masses were in fact cancerous. Having had to wait three weeks to get these results, Courtney took matters into her own hands and got him two appointments at Dana Farber and Brigham and Women's in Boston.    

Results from Dartmouth were sent to Boston and it was confirmed yesterday at Dana Farber that all sites tested during the endoscopy are positive.  He has a tumor at the end of his esophagus, spots on his liver as well as enlarged lymph nodes in the chest/abdomen area which are all cancerous.  The thoracic surgeon we met with at Brigham said as of yesterday surgery if off the table and most likely radiation as well, because it was found in multiple locations. After meeting with the oncologists at both Dana and Dartmouth his first form of defense is going to be chemo therapy.  He needs to attack the whole body, not just one concentrated area.  What kind of chemo treatment he will receive is still being determined. 

Seth is currently working with oncologists at both at Dana Farber and Dartmouth Hitchcock.  With as many experts' minds pooled together, they are going to coordinate and hopefully develop the best treatment plan possible for him.  Chemo will just be the first of many to come!


Due to the extreme amount of pain he has been in he has not been able to work.  Once he started receiving medications (which he is still finding the right combination to work for him) he could not return to his place of employment while taking these medications.  He is considered not "fit for duty" as they call it in the Nuclear Power Plant world.  So he's had to step down or resign at this point from his job.  

With no steady income at the moment and a number of expenses coming in, we are asking for the help of our family and friends.  We can't ease his physical or emotional pains,  but our hope is to relieve some of the financial burdens of this illness.  His focus needs to be on getting himself better and taking care of his adorable three year old son Carter.  

Love,

The Christmas Family