Help a father and daughter battle against cancer
Our father, Tong, and sister, Pang are both battling against cancer. Their treatments are just starting and we are asking for your support to beat cancer. This YouCaring page was created by the siblings to give friends and family a place to post comments of love and support and also for us to provide updates on Tong and Pang’s progress. For those who are comfortable, please feel free to leave donation that will go towards their medical bills and out-of-pocket expenses. But really, any type of support is truly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
About Tong and Pang
Tong is our loving, gentle and compassionate father-his patience, strong principles and unwavering faith really make him a great teacher of life and a great father. His highest priority in life is to be the best father he could be and to teach us kids to be better than we already are. His love for his family, his friends and his positive outlook on life are a huge influence to everyone around him. This positive attitude is shown each and everyday as he battles cancer and yet has never complained so he would not cause worry to his family. Our father is truly the greatest gift we have ever received. Pang is our courageous, selfless and beautiful older sister. Since the tender age of 9 she has been like a second mother to all of us younger siblings- investing her time to help us learn, making sacrifices so we could have opportunities she was not given and pouring into us her unconditional love. She is one of the most caring and loving person we know.
Even now, when she should be focused on herself she is more concerned about our father’s well-being and continues to care for others selflessly.
The Tragic Events
This year unexpectedly brought the lowest lows that a family could experience. In January of 2013, our sister Pang Thao was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer called Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Then while Pang was in the middle of her chemo treatments, which was around June, our father Tong’s nasopharyngeal cancer also relapsed. It was very difficult for our family to experience both tragic events at the same time.
The Current Situation
Our sister Pang has been through 6 rounds of chemotherapy treatments and the last two rounds have been the harshest. Every time she goes into the hospital, she stays at least 3 weeks. Usually she is in the hospital for an entire month but the last two sessions lasted about 6 weeks. She just finished her last round of chemotherapy treatment on November 5th, 2013. This last round was to reduce her cancer cells to low enough numbers so she can start the bone marrow transplant at UCSF. Fortunately, the biopsy results on November 11th showed that her cancer cells were low enough for her to start a bone marrow transplant on November 25th 2013. Our father Tong underwent brain surgery on September 24th, 2013 to remove a lesion in his right temporal lobe. After that successful brain surgery, he is now back at home with our family and is currently undergoing weekly chemotherapy treatments.
His chemotherapy treatment will end in late December and after further tests and evaluations we will get more information on the next recommended treatment plans.
The Road Ahead…
Pang is scheduled to undergo bone marrow transplant on November 25th, 2013. The transplant will involve one week of intense chemotherapy and radiation to kill all white blood cells in her body. At the end of that week Pang will receive a transfusion from the donor of white blood cells. She will stay in the hospital for a month after the transfusion. After that Pang and her husband, Chris, will be staying in long term housing within 45 minutes of the hospital for about 4 months. Pang will need to go to the hospital every other day for monitoring and adjustment of her medications. They will slowly taper off her visits as she gets adjusted to the new white blood cells. Once she gets the new white blood cells we will be watching to make sure that the new white blood cells do not start attacking her body. During the time that they are in San Francisco they will both basically be living in a bubble and avoiding going out to public areas.
Chris will be her primary care taker and they will be limited to the apartment or hotel to make sure she is not exposed to anything since her immune system will be very weak. Once the doctors feel that Pang is strong enough, she can come back to Fresno and do her check-ups at the local hospital. Tong is now back at home and currently undergoing a rigorous 3 month long chemotherapy session. His chemotherapy treatment will end in late December and after further tests and evaluations we will get more information on the next recommended treatment plans.
The Need
Pang and Chris both live in Fresno, CA with their 16 months old daughter, Autumn. Her husband Chris will be on unpaid leave to be Pang’s primary caretaker during her stay in San Francisco. Their insurance will cover the medical expenses for the bone marrow transplant but they will need to pay out of pocket for living expenses during their 4 months stay in San Francisco. Our father Tong is now back at home and currently undergoing a rigorous 3 month long chemotherapy session. His only needs are a new adjustable bed to help with his breathing while he sleeps and letters of support, as he is an avid reader and writer. Many friends and family have been asking about donating to Pang and Tong’s causes. Some very good friends have recommended that our family set up this site as a good way to organize fundraising efforts and support. We hope you will join us in donating whatever amount you can, and spreading the word to your friends, families, churches and other community organizations.
