Support Rob Foe's Battle Against Cancer

My uncle, Rob Foe, has stage 4 testicular and germ cell cancer and has been in the hospital in Madisonville, Kentucky since June 3rd. He hasn't been able to work since April and the medical bills keep increasing. My aunt, Lana, took some time off work to care for him and is struggling with the household bills. My nanny has been at the hospital every day since Lana had to go back to work.

My uncle's case has been discussed at Vanderbilt Hospital tumor board. Cancer situations that are particularly difficult or not progressing in a typical way are brainstormed about when they meet. The physician who presented his case ended up speaking to the expert in testicular cancer from Indiana University about Rob. His opinion was to proceed with chemotherapy to shrink the tumors and then see if surgery is a possibility after chemo is completed.

Rob has been placed on palliative care with the hopes to get him healthy enough to start chemotherapy again. In April, he had a nephrostomy tube put in his right kidney since a tumor was blocking that kidney from draining. My uncle was hospitalized in May when he attempted to start chemotherapy, and instead, they admitted him since his blood work showed his sodium, electrolytes, and kidney function were not in the normal ranges. Rob had one round of chemo in May and since then has had several complications. He was admitted to the hospital this time when they realized his blood was so thin that it wouldn't register on the device they use to check his clotting ability. Rob's number that night was 16, when it is supposed to be between 2.5 – 3.5. One of the chemo drugs, etoposide, makes the blood thinner he is on (warfarin) far too effective. Unfortunately, he has to stay on a blood thinner since the lymph nodes that have tumors put a lot of pressure on his major arteries.

In the ER, they additionally found his kidneys were failing, his electrolytes were off, and there was blood in his stool. Lana was having a lot of difficulty getting Rob to eat before he went into the hospital. A couple of days into the current hospital stay, they scanned him and found he had a partial blockage in his small intestine. He had an NG tube placed to drain fluid off of him and give his digestive system a chance to rest. Rob learned he also has a fracture in his spine after one of the numerous scans. This has caused him additional pain and his oncologist is trying to get him a referral to get this issue addressed. During this stay, they found out there are more cancer lesions on his liver. So the cancer is spreading. The most recent complication is his hemoglobin count is low enough that my uncle is getting blood transfusions.

Any amount of donation is greatly appreciated and will go towards the numerous medical bills and additional expenses that keep increasing. If you don't have the ability to donate, please share on your social media and help us spread the word.

Thank you so, so much