Help Danny Fazziola Beat Cancer
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In July of 2018 our brother, Danny and his wife Lisa planned a trip to go to Utah to visit their son, Michael. It was one of a handful of trips they had taken in their entire 32 year marriage. The night before they left New York, Danny noticed blood in his urine. Shortly after returning from the trip it started again. Thinking it was a urinary tract infection he went to the doctor and was treated for an infection but was also sent to a urologist for further evaluation . They found a 5cm tumor in his bladder that was removed and biopsied on October 19, 2018. Unfortunately it was bladder cancer that had made it to the outside layer of the bladder.
On October 25, 2019, at the age of 57, he had a cysto-prostatectomy; a surgical procedure in which the bladder and prostate gland are removed and at that time they also performed an appendectomy. They found 1 cell in 1 lymph node and he was scheduled to start chemo. But on November 10th he was admitted to the hospital with a fever and he became septic and was in the hospital for 10 days before they could clear up his infection.
Danny finally started chemo on December 10th with the treatment planned for 2 weeks on and one week off for 4 cycles. On February 1, 2019 he received the results of his PET scan to check for cancer and it was clear – no evidence of disease! He felt like he had won the lottery but knew he had to get through the rest of his chemo. Three days later on February 4th he suffered a stroke and thankfully Lisa got him to the hospital in the “golden hour”. He also suffered a series of strokes in the hospital and in all he had 7 strokes . The neurologist was shocked when he saw him, after looking at his MRI, that there was no real lasting damage.
The doctors thought his carotid artery was blocked and that was what caused the strokes and he was scheduled to have a stent put in. When they went in to do the angioplasty they discovered the artery was not blocked and the blockage must have been a clot that dissolved with the blood thinners they had administered to him since his admission. The outcome was that they thought he had AFIb ( atrial fibrillation),where the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) beat irregularly (quiver) instead of beating effectively to move blood into the ventricles. If a clot breaks off, enters the bloodstream and lodges in an artery leading to the brain, a stroke results. After almost 10 days he was released from the hospital. They thought the chemo was related and they stopped treatment (remember his scans a month before were clean).
On April 3, 2019 had a loop monitor implanted in his chest to monitor for AFIb. Which to date has not shown any abnormalities.
On June 26th he had a another follow up scan and the results were not good; a reoccurrence of the bladder cancer and near the intestine there was a 2 inch tumor . A biopsy was scheduled for July 2nd and the results were not what everyone had hoped. The plan was to start a clinical trial of chemo. On July 9th the pain became unbearable and Danny was yet again admitted to the hospital with a severe infection. They couldn’t figure out the cause and tried to get it under control with antibiotics and went in and drained the infection. He was supposed to start chemo on July 19th and that morning they came in and told him that he couldn’t have chemo. that it would kill him, because of his suppressed immune system. They told him they were planning on operating Monday July 22 because the bladder cancer was entering the colon and it was causing the leak and therefore the infection. They would perform a colostomy which is a surgical operation in which a piece of the colon is diverted to an artificial opening in the abdominal wall so as to bypass a damaged part of the colon. He joked that he would now be a 2 bag man. They would then start chemo to shrink the tumor and a very confident surgeon said he will be able to remove the tumor and if not all, enough to kill it with chemo. They are hoping to reverse the colostomy about 9 months out .So Danny had a good cry ,picked himself up prepared himself mentally yet again. . Monday morning they delayed his surgery until Thursday , 7/25/2019 because his blood thinners could cause him to bleed out on the table. His colostomy tomorrow will exactly 10 months to the day he had his cysto-prostatectomy/appendectomy.
As you can imagine it has been an emotional roller coaster for the family, but Danny wants to fight ! He wants to live for his wife and 5 children. He has worked hard to support a family of seven often taking on additional jobs on top of his full time job. He wants to see his children get married and enjoy his future grandchildren. He deserves to beat this evil cancer and get to enjoy his life now that has raised and put five incredible humans through college. Danny is a true outdoorsman and he hasn’t been able to smell fresh air since he was admitted to the hospital over 2 weeks ago and that is impacting his mental state as well as the pain of the tumor pushing on a nerve in his leg.
Danny has worked for a small family owned business since he was sixteen years old. The business recently changed ownership and he does not get paid if he does not work. He has been in the hospital a lot over the last 10 months. As you can imagine the medical bills are extensive and continue to grow. The day to day bills (mortgage ,utilities, etc.) still have to be taken care of whether or not he has any income.
As Danny and Lisa face the battle, ahead things will become more difficult financially. Beating cancer is a full time job so we are asking for your help so that Danny can focus all of his energy on getting healthy and not have to worry about anything else.
This page was set up with love by his sisters Jackie & Gerry.
Every prayer, every positive thought or supportive gesture is greatly appreciated.
On October 25, 2019, at the age of 57, he had a cysto-prostatectomy; a surgical procedure in which the bladder and prostate gland are removed and at that time they also performed an appendectomy. They found 1 cell in 1 lymph node and he was scheduled to start chemo. But on November 10th he was admitted to the hospital with a fever and he became septic and was in the hospital for 10 days before they could clear up his infection.
Danny finally started chemo on December 10th with the treatment planned for 2 weeks on and one week off for 4 cycles. On February 1, 2019 he received the results of his PET scan to check for cancer and it was clear – no evidence of disease! He felt like he had won the lottery but knew he had to get through the rest of his chemo. Three days later on February 4th he suffered a stroke and thankfully Lisa got him to the hospital in the “golden hour”. He also suffered a series of strokes in the hospital and in all he had 7 strokes . The neurologist was shocked when he saw him, after looking at his MRI, that there was no real lasting damage.
The doctors thought his carotid artery was blocked and that was what caused the strokes and he was scheduled to have a stent put in. When they went in to do the angioplasty they discovered the artery was not blocked and the blockage must have been a clot that dissolved with the blood thinners they had administered to him since his admission. The outcome was that they thought he had AFIb ( atrial fibrillation),where the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) beat irregularly (quiver) instead of beating effectively to move blood into the ventricles. If a clot breaks off, enters the bloodstream and lodges in an artery leading to the brain, a stroke results. After almost 10 days he was released from the hospital. They thought the chemo was related and they stopped treatment (remember his scans a month before were clean).
On April 3, 2019 had a loop monitor implanted in his chest to monitor for AFIb. Which to date has not shown any abnormalities.
On June 26th he had a another follow up scan and the results were not good; a reoccurrence of the bladder cancer and near the intestine there was a 2 inch tumor . A biopsy was scheduled for July 2nd and the results were not what everyone had hoped. The plan was to start a clinical trial of chemo. On July 9th the pain became unbearable and Danny was yet again admitted to the hospital with a severe infection. They couldn’t figure out the cause and tried to get it under control with antibiotics and went in and drained the infection. He was supposed to start chemo on July 19th and that morning they came in and told him that he couldn’t have chemo. that it would kill him, because of his suppressed immune system. They told him they were planning on operating Monday July 22 because the bladder cancer was entering the colon and it was causing the leak and therefore the infection. They would perform a colostomy which is a surgical operation in which a piece of the colon is diverted to an artificial opening in the abdominal wall so as to bypass a damaged part of the colon. He joked that he would now be a 2 bag man. They would then start chemo to shrink the tumor and a very confident surgeon said he will be able to remove the tumor and if not all, enough to kill it with chemo. They are hoping to reverse the colostomy about 9 months out .So Danny had a good cry ,picked himself up prepared himself mentally yet again. . Monday morning they delayed his surgery until Thursday , 7/25/2019 because his blood thinners could cause him to bleed out on the table. His colostomy tomorrow will exactly 10 months to the day he had his cysto-prostatectomy/appendectomy.
As you can imagine it has been an emotional roller coaster for the family, but Danny wants to fight ! He wants to live for his wife and 5 children. He has worked hard to support a family of seven often taking on additional jobs on top of his full time job. He wants to see his children get married and enjoy his future grandchildren. He deserves to beat this evil cancer and get to enjoy his life now that has raised and put five incredible humans through college. Danny is a true outdoorsman and he hasn’t been able to smell fresh air since he was admitted to the hospital over 2 weeks ago and that is impacting his mental state as well as the pain of the tumor pushing on a nerve in his leg.
Danny has worked for a small family owned business since he was sixteen years old. The business recently changed ownership and he does not get paid if he does not work. He has been in the hospital a lot over the last 10 months. As you can imagine the medical bills are extensive and continue to grow. The day to day bills (mortgage ,utilities, etc.) still have to be taken care of whether or not he has any income.
As Danny and Lisa face the battle, ahead things will become more difficult financially. Beating cancer is a full time job so we are asking for your help so that Danny can focus all of his energy on getting healthy and not have to worry about anything else.
This page was set up with love by his sisters Jackie & Gerry.
Every prayer, every positive thought or supportive gesture is greatly appreciated.
Fundraising team (2)
Jackie Fazziola Chamberlain
Organizer
Merrimack, NH
Lisa Nowicke Fazziola
Beneficiary
Gerry Fazziola Munno
Team member
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