A few years ago (2018) Matt was diagnosed with prostrate cancer. He went through radiation and the cancer was treated successfully Feb 6, 2019. In Feb 2021, he starting having a pain in his upper leg/groin area. He mentioned it to his primary doctor and urologist who both said he had arthritis. After seeing multiple specialists and doing physical therapy, they couldn’t find the source of his pain.
In November, Matt went deer hunting. This is something he looks forward to every year: 10 days in the north woods. Opening Day is his best day of the year! This year, he went out opening day, shot the first deer he saw, but found himself in so much pain that he couldn’t even drag it out. He stayed in the cabin for the rest of the season. This was a telling sign something was wrong. When he returned home, he was coughing up blood clots. After an ER visit, he had a bronchostopy and biopsy on his lungs. Cancer. (Now we question if the prostate cancer in 2018 was really lung cancer???).
Knowing he has cancer in his lungs, the pain in his leg/groin area is still more concerning due to the constant pain. His physical activity is halted (which anyone who knows Matt, knows this is a big deal. He worked commercial construction for 38 years. He’s a handyman who likes to putz and keep busy doing anything and everything). This is a big deal!!!
On 12/18 he went for a CT scan on the pain in his leg/groin area to find out it’s a tumor. In this moment, we don’t know if it’s cancer or not, but we can only assume.
On 12/28, He had a PET scan to identify all of the cancer in his body.
Over the 2 weeks of scans, the pain continued to worsen. The doctor switched his pain meds multiple times as the pain continued to worsen. A few days before New Years, it was so bad his doctor prescribed fentanyl patches (with Narcan for potential overdose). It’s overwhelming and just a lot to absorb. This was a very real moment for us. This is serious.
Monday 1/3/22 - Matt went to his first oncologist appt. We knew he had cancer. We knew it was bad. But we never expected the results we heard.
Matt has a rare form of cancer- Late Stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma.
Though Matt has been struck with a devastating diagnosis, his attitude and zest for living each day to its fullest is his main goal!
Please join us for Matt’s journey as we battle this very, very rare form of cancer. Patti is Matt’s long time love of his life for 37 (soon to be 38) years. They have built a beautiful home and a beautiful family which includes one daughter Liane. His 2 very important women, will be following his lead on his sunset journey. We will try to keep you informed, as much as possible.
Liane bought over a pile of money for him to sort and count.
He did wonderful sorting them, then counting them into piles of $100. Keeping track of the piles counted and figuring out the total amount was a difficult task. When he got it right, he fumbled with accepting his thought process and had to recount each pile for accuracy. Then he reconfigured the piles.
He did seem to enjoy himself and he did a wonderful job staying on task. Though the end result was very difficult to decipher, he accomplished the task!
She asked him to count all of the money and tell her how much was there.
Patients and caregivers love hearing from you; add a comment to show your support.
Help Matt Stay Connected to Family and Friends
A $25 donation to CaringBridge powers a site like Matt's for two weeks. Will you make a gift to help ensure that this site stays online for them and for you?
Patients and caregivers love hearing from you; add a comment to show your support.