My dad is gone. It happened so fast.

My dad was diagnosed in early August 2024. He elected not to get treatment. He was doing fine up until Christmas day, when he was tired with stomachaches and couldn’t make it to breakfast (but made it to dinner just fine!)

Last weekend I flew down for a visit and we went out for brunch and walked to get burritos together. He was tired but made the walk. The next day he rode along with my mom to drop me at the airport and gave me a hug goodbye.

Later that day he started vomiting and couldn’t keep anything down (I was not informed of this until friday).

He went to the ER Saturday and they determined the tumor had grown and was pressing on his stomach causing the issue. He got an IV and seemed better, but I flew down Sunday just in case. He didn’t seem great, just wanted to sleep. We had a consultation with a hospice nurse yesterday and she evaluated him and thought he maybe had a few weeks. This morning he looked awful, I stopped in on my way to get his new medications from the pharmacy. An hour later he was gone.

My dad was a wonderful person. He always had my back, and embraced all my weird qualities and got involved in all my interests, even the girly bands and books I was into in high school. He made me the person I am today. He is irreplaceable. I’m just glad he went quickly in the end, and I spent as much time with him as I could over the last few months. Thank you to this subreddit for all the support. I’m so glad I found this resource.

And to all of you struggling with this cancer. My heart goes out to you.