Our dad, John Diamantis, was diagnosed with Colon cancer in 2018. From then until his sudden death on April 10, he battled that illness and its companions.

What started with colon cancer metastasized into his bladder, kidney, and lungs. He had an endless number of surgical procedures since then to keep him afloat; tumor scrapings and removals, chemotherapies that left him brutalized and unable to walk or eat, nephrostomy tubes when his kidneys gave out and then eventually dialysis, endless hospitalizations for 8 years, terrible prognosis after terrible prognosis. Sepsis. Through most of it he was able to live independently with daily support from my mom, and us his daughters and our spouses. These last 6 months he ended up in nursing homes and rehab centers until we moved him into my mom's home in January to help keep him safe and comfortable.

And after all that, his recent scans were clean; a miracle of a result. His doctors were floored. We'd signed a new apartment lease for him, he was getting stronger. It took a sudden and incredibly rare and violent infection to finally take him out. He was a tough and stubborn man in every facet right up until his last breath.

Our dad was a massive and lifelong audiophile, hi-fi stereo enthusiast and collector, world class broadcast engineer, excellent poker player, technology tinkerer, and very cool human being. Everything we know about music we learned from him.

All of this treatment and struggle for 8 years drained his entire savings and retirement and there's still more left to pay. We've supported him as best we could but it feels bottomless. We've also been selling his vast collection to help pay for his care. There's currently enough left to see to his cremation and hold a small memorial.

In lieu of flowers or other sentiments please consider donating to help us chip away at this mountain of debt. Your support means everything to us and our mom. Thank you.

Alyssa Diamantis Spencer and Marli Diamantis Ferentinos