Team Paekbot Fundraiser
Donation protected
Dennis and Esther first met during their tenure at Ithaca College. Legend has it, their first brief encounter was at a responsible adult-mixer during their Junior year. It wasn't love at first sight. There were no big fireworks, no magnetic pull, not even a Facebook Friend request. It was simply not their time.
August of 2009, both Dennis and Esther came to San Francisco. Esther by way of her aversion to Los Angeles and Dennis, by riding his bike from Providence, Rhode Island to San Francisco,CA. Through mutual Ithaca College friends, they met again. And this time, it was something special. They both knew it.
Fast-forward 5 years: Dennis and Esther tied the knot and threw a wedding celebration not to be forgotten, went on a honeymoon and promptly got pregnant! However, their fate to just have a baby and keep it simple just wasn't in the stars.
On the first Monday in February, approximately 2 weeks before the estimated delivery date of their first child, Dennis received some awful news: that pain he had in his testicle was a mass and it was likely cancerous. The Urologist recommended that he have the mass removed immediately. An out-patient radical orchiectomy was scheduled for 4 days later, Thursday at 8am.
Their son, Theodore, had other plans. At 1am Thursday morning, Esther went into labor and delivered a squalling, beautiful 7.0 lb baby boy into the world at 4:29pm. Needless to say, Dennis' surgery was put on the backburner. It was rescheduled for the following Tuesday. But once again, Theodore had other plans. The following Sunday (the day after they got released from the hospital after birth), they went back to the hospital as Theo was extremely jaundiced and needed some chill time under the blue UV phototherapy lights.
On Tuesday morning, Thedore and Esther were released from the hospital as Dennis was going in to the hospital to get his orchiectomy done. The surgery went on without a hitch and the mass was removed. Dennis, Esther, and Theodore spent a few weeks recovering together with the help of their postpartum doula, Nicky.
When Dennis recovered, he had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon. The mass was sent to pathology which was confirmed as being cancerous. It was a germ cell nonseminoma tumor, 90% embryonal and 10% seminoma, with evidence of lymphvascular invasion. In layman's terms, that meant Dennis had the aggressive kind of tumor and the cancerous cells were likely to be present in his bloodstream. Interestingly enough, Dennis did not have alarmingly elevated serum tumor markers (AFP, beta-hCG and LDH).
The oncology team at Kaiser categorized Dennis to be in Stage 1b and due to the evidence of lymphvascular invasion coupled with the nonseminoma pathology, they recommended that Dennis start chemotherapy immediately. 1 cycle of BEP (bleomycin, etoposide, cisplatin). Still reeling from the diagnosis, Dennis and Esther decided starting chemotherapy as quickly as possible was the best course of action.
Although, chemotherapy was extremely difficult, Dennis, Esther, and Theodore felt they came out on the other side wiser and grateful. For the next 6 months, Dennis had lab work done regulary but because he had never had alarming serum tumor markers, this didn't seem out of place. It wasn't until the end of October that Dennis went to the emergency room with severe pain in his lower back. After a CT scan and for the first time, a PET scan, Team Paekbot found out that Dennis now had 3 tumors: 1 behind the left kidney in the retroperiteneal space (3.5 x 4.3 x 6 cm), 1 by the tip of the left lung (7 x 13 mm), and 1 in the bronchus (7 x 8 mm).
At present day, they are questioning what the next best course of action would be. Dennis' spirit and will have never been so strong. His out look on life is downright inspirational as you can read from his social media posts;
"Even with cancer, I love my life. I'm more grateful for what I got. Right. Now. I'm a blessed man, surrounded by each of you who inspire me deeply. Let's do this. Together.
Round 5: Fight!"
This round of chemotherapy will not be easy for Dennis and his family. That is why I'm doing my part to help support them through this process and the holiday season. Please do your absolute best to help them fight!
Thank you deeply for being interested in the story and providing your invaluable support and well-wishes. This holiday season, I will #GoBeyondGiving and campaign tirelessly to help someone in need, because that is the genuine meaning of true life and love.
August of 2009, both Dennis and Esther came to San Francisco. Esther by way of her aversion to Los Angeles and Dennis, by riding his bike from Providence, Rhode Island to San Francisco,CA. Through mutual Ithaca College friends, they met again. And this time, it was something special. They both knew it.
Fast-forward 5 years: Dennis and Esther tied the knot and threw a wedding celebration not to be forgotten, went on a honeymoon and promptly got pregnant! However, their fate to just have a baby and keep it simple just wasn't in the stars.
On the first Monday in February, approximately 2 weeks before the estimated delivery date of their first child, Dennis received some awful news: that pain he had in his testicle was a mass and it was likely cancerous. The Urologist recommended that he have the mass removed immediately. An out-patient radical orchiectomy was scheduled for 4 days later, Thursday at 8am.
Their son, Theodore, had other plans. At 1am Thursday morning, Esther went into labor and delivered a squalling, beautiful 7.0 lb baby boy into the world at 4:29pm. Needless to say, Dennis' surgery was put on the backburner. It was rescheduled for the following Tuesday. But once again, Theodore had other plans. The following Sunday (the day after they got released from the hospital after birth), they went back to the hospital as Theo was extremely jaundiced and needed some chill time under the blue UV phototherapy lights.
On Tuesday morning, Thedore and Esther were released from the hospital as Dennis was going in to the hospital to get his orchiectomy done. The surgery went on without a hitch and the mass was removed. Dennis, Esther, and Theodore spent a few weeks recovering together with the help of their postpartum doula, Nicky.
When Dennis recovered, he had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon. The mass was sent to pathology which was confirmed as being cancerous. It was a germ cell nonseminoma tumor, 90% embryonal and 10% seminoma, with evidence of lymphvascular invasion. In layman's terms, that meant Dennis had the aggressive kind of tumor and the cancerous cells were likely to be present in his bloodstream. Interestingly enough, Dennis did not have alarmingly elevated serum tumor markers (AFP, beta-hCG and LDH).
The oncology team at Kaiser categorized Dennis to be in Stage 1b and due to the evidence of lymphvascular invasion coupled with the nonseminoma pathology, they recommended that Dennis start chemotherapy immediately. 1 cycle of BEP (bleomycin, etoposide, cisplatin). Still reeling from the diagnosis, Dennis and Esther decided starting chemotherapy as quickly as possible was the best course of action.
Although, chemotherapy was extremely difficult, Dennis, Esther, and Theodore felt they came out on the other side wiser and grateful. For the next 6 months, Dennis had lab work done regulary but because he had never had alarming serum tumor markers, this didn't seem out of place. It wasn't until the end of October that Dennis went to the emergency room with severe pain in his lower back. After a CT scan and for the first time, a PET scan, Team Paekbot found out that Dennis now had 3 tumors: 1 behind the left kidney in the retroperiteneal space (3.5 x 4.3 x 6 cm), 1 by the tip of the left lung (7 x 13 mm), and 1 in the bronchus (7 x 8 mm).
At present day, they are questioning what the next best course of action would be. Dennis' spirit and will have never been so strong. His out look on life is downright inspirational as you can read from his social media posts;
"Even with cancer, I love my life. I'm more grateful for what I got. Right. Now. I'm a blessed man, surrounded by each of you who inspire me deeply. Let's do this. Together.
Round 5: Fight!"
This round of chemotherapy will not be easy for Dennis and his family. That is why I'm doing my part to help support them through this process and the holiday season. Please do your absolute best to help them fight!
Thank you deeply for being interested in the story and providing your invaluable support and well-wishes. This holiday season, I will #GoBeyondGiving and campaign tirelessly to help someone in need, because that is the genuine meaning of true life and love.
Organiser and beneficiary
Kevin Gilmore
Organiser
Jenkintown, PA
Dennis Disbot Jr.
Beneficiary