Our beautiful son Drew Matthews is in the fight of his life. Drew is a 24-year-old active duty Marine who was diagnosed in June 2017 with a rare and aggressive form of testicular cancer called Choriocarcinoma with Teratomas. As is often the case with this kind of cancer, it was not discovered until it had metastacized. The cancer is in Drew's pelvis, liver, lungs and brain. Between June and September 2017, Drew completed 5 rounds of chemotherapy, but it was not successful. In October 2017, Drew suffered a brain hemorrhage when tumors in his brain ruptured and had emergency brain surgery. He recovered well from that, although he has some vision loss in both eyes. In late 2017, Drew was headed toward a high dose chemotherapy / stem cell transplant program at UCSF, with the hope that it will beat back the cancer. On 11/30/17, Drew and his dad Ken were at UCSF for a day of tests and to start chemotherapy when Drew suffered a major seizure. An MRI showed a small area of brain bleeding. Fortunately, Drew didn't need surgery and was able to continue with treatment. With Drew's permission, we have established this Caring Bridge site as a way to keep family and friends informed. Please keep Drew in your prayers and check back for updates. We greatly appreciate all your love and support.
CaringBridge is a nonprofit social network dedicated to helping family and friends communicate with and support loved ones during a health journey. Learn more about CaringBridge.
