*&^%$# cancer

My youngest brother was diagnosed with cancer this week...I encouraged him to be open and reach out for support as I understand the importance of this during a fight for your life.

Brian - you will always be my hero and the strong one, I know you can fight this....dont ever give up....I love you

Here is the letter my brother wrote to his friends :

Dear Friends and Relatives,
As some of you have already heard, in the last 3 weeks I went from going to my doctor with a persistent, uncomfortable belly ache to being diagnosed with stomach cancer. After lab work and a CAT scan last week, yesterday they did a lower intestine colonoscopy (all clear) and an upper GI endoscope check. My doctor found several small tumors in a group in my upper stomach. I have the most common type of stomach cancer (Gastric Adencarcinoma). I’m not in any great pain, but very bloated and very uncomfortable.

I can only eat small amounts of food without onset of nausea. If I over eat, it feels like I chowed down 2 Thanksgiving dinners non-stop !!

It is a late stage diagnosis (stage3/4), which my Doctor says is common for most stomach cancers since they don’t present early symptoms, and are not checked preventively like colon, prostate or breast cancer. My tumor had already gone through the wall of my stomach and was leaking cancer cell fluid into my abdomen (found last week in a parcenthesis-sp?....a long, ugly needle stuck in belly).

Today, I just got back from my Oncologist who I really like. He is only 5 min from my home. I go in next Thurs to St Elizabeth’s Hospital radiology for a heart scan so they know I’m strong enough for chemo, then again Friday for a porta-cath med-port insertion in my chest. Then I start chemo treatments Mon 30 July. Surgery and radiation are unlikely at this time I’m told.

Wonder how I’ll look and feel…… bald and vomiting. Oh freaking joy!

Thanks to all of you who have sent along your well wishes. I appreciate your support and prayers,

Brian Philipp

Another note:
A good friend of ours passed away last night....Rest in Peace Chris Guidry.
She fought for six months against lung cancer. My heart goes out to her son Zach who went to school with Gracie.

I am so tired of cancer....we must find a cure.  We must.