October 2001

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2/12/06-- Roy lost his battle with cancer. Our deepest sympathies to Mary Jo and the family.

Roy was diagnosed with bladder cancer and had his bladder removed in Feb. 2001. He went through chemo treatments and was told that the cancer had been contained within the bladder.

Approximately 10 years ago, Roy had a heart attack which led to heart bypass surgery with 3 blockages. He recently returned to his cardiologist to be informed that he now has 2 blockages. During an x-ray, the doctor noticed that something was wrong and referred Roy to a Lung Specialist. In October 2005, the Lung specialist did a PET CT scan which showed multiple lung masses. Biopsies were done twice. He was then diagnosed with lung cancer. The oncologist said he had sarcoma in stage IV and he recommended Chemo treatments. He said if the treatments were effective it could extend life for 6 months. Roy went through 2 treatments(3 weeks apart) and then another CT scan was done to determine if the chemo had been effective.

On December 19, 2005, the oncologist informed us that the treatments had not been effective and that treatment would be discontinued. He stated that the only thing he could do would be to treat the symptoms and pain. The largest tumor was the size of an orange. Roy was referred to hospice for care. His pain medicines have been adjusted a couple of times over the last 2 weeks due to his increase in pain.

Roy and Mary Jo have been married for 52 years. She also has various health issues. The cards have brought them great joy, so let's continue to lift them up.