Jim Reitano

Hello to family and friends, 

We wanted to share what has been happening in our lives over the past several weeks. It has been an emotionally draining time and figured this would be a good way to let you know updates. 

It began several weeks ago when Jim Reitano started having lower back pain. He went to the doctor and they believed it to be a bladder infection, thus prescribing him antibiotics. As the pain grew worse, Lyn Reitano decided to take Jim to the doctor. After doing a scan, they found a tumor in the bladder. Acting quickly, it was decided that he would have the tumor removed one week later on August 2nd. On the day of surgery, the doctor emerged to tell Melissa, Ryan and Lyn that he believe the tumor was in fact cancerous and that it had extended to the muscle of the bladder. This came as a complete shock to all of us. That evening, Kristen, Conally and Neena were all able to join us as we came together to process and grieve. One week later, the pathology report confirmed our worst fear. The tumor was indeed cancerous. As we learned this information, we took time to process and pray. Lyn, Jim and Ryan met with the oncologist to formulate a plan. It was set that Jim would begin four three-week rounds of chemotherapy beginning on August 24th. After the chemo, Jim will have his bladder removed. 

This has been a very trying time with highs and lows. Jim has still been having pain but has managed to make it to the golf course with Ryan on the good days. We are striving to keep normalcy and good spirits. We are taking it one day at a time and moving forward with a positive outlook. We know how strong Jim is and what a fighter he is. We all appreciate thoughts and prayers. We know that Jim will come out of this much stronger and we are looking forward to taking on this battle with him. We love you all!