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Cancer Fund

I am a 70-year-old male who has been on a long journey with cancer, since 2017.  It started with lumps appearing on the sides of my jaws, which was diagnosed as head and neck small cell carcinoma stage IV.  Last March I was scheduled for a routine esophagus checkup since I've had Barrett's esophagus since 1990.   Because of Covid-19, the doctor's office was closed until June 2020. That's when this new tumor showed up, between the stomach and the esophagus.  The doctor said "you just can't get a break, can you?"  So we waited to see my cancer doctor at Sarah Cannon's Cancer Center who recommended a surgeon to remove the tumor.  However, after a sonogram of the tumor, they found it had infiltrated the wall, so surgery was postponed until the tumor could be reduced with chemotherapy.  After going previous chemo which left me with residual tissue and nerve damage, I was not looking forward to more chemo, but Dr. Greco assured me there is a high number of recovery for patient's with this type of cancer, and the treatments would not be as destructive as the previous chemotherapy.  I was hopeful.  The head and neck cancer was not connected to this, and I was in remission from it.  So I started chemo and radiation threatment.   I had finished  5 weeks of treatment was in a healing and rest stage, waiting for the next CT scan to see if the size of the tumor had reduced, my wife noticed that I had a couple of signs that showed the possibility of a stroke.  The right side of my face drooped, and I started slurring words, but I could walk and think just fine.  After visiting the doctor's office,  I had an MRI, which proved to be too limited for my radiation doctor, Dr. Kennedy, to see the extent of what was going on in my brain, but they found a metastatic tumor.  He asked for me to get another MRI which was more specific.  Wed did this, then went home.  A day or so later, my right hand could not grasp anything.  So we went to the emergency room, where I had another MRI and they found a small brain bleed inside the tumor.   They admitted me into the hospital, where I stayed a week.  I had limited ability to speak or eat, yet I could think, and walk.  My wife is typing this out for me now.   We are expecting high bills and have already paid out for two of the MRIs.  We are waiting for the hospital bill.

Organizer

Randolph R. Harris
Organizer
Kingston Springs, TN

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