Albert: Never Alone

“When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.” - Stuart Scott

Albert lived his 29 years of life with no regrets. He believed that life is meant for living; that we shouldn’t wait for life to happen, but instead we should go out and live it. He embodied this attitude and sought out experiences that challenged him to grow and expand his perspective. Whether it was photography, learning how to make the best cup of coffee, appreciating craft beer, engineering, motorcycles, skateboarding, breakdancing, music, gaming and streaming, and even how to iron his clothes like a professional -- no matter what it was, he dove right in. He was very passionate and if he wanted to do something, he did it. He didn’t hesitate.

Even after his diagnosis, Albert continued to live life. He planned trips and continued to seek out experiences. In fact, his diagnosis made him want to live life even more fully. Even when hit with the deadliest form of cancer with the rarest metastasis, he never once chose to live as a victim. He fought tooth and nail for joy and peace where no joy nor peace should be found. After having his first procedure -- an awake craniotomy in November of 2016 -- he posted on his Instagram:

“If you found out when your life would end, would you live any different than you do today? #whywait”

For him, part of living life fully was the strength of his relationships. Albert was kind, patient, considerate and always so polite. The way he treated people had a big impact and he brought people together to the very end.

Albert  took his last breath at home, under his own dark sky park, at 11:30 PM on May 11th, 2019, surrounded by his family and his closest friends. 

This campaign was meant to go live last fall when Albert could no longer work,  but because things got crazier fast, there was never a time to finalize it. Every amount raised will go toward medical and funeral costs.

Read about Albert’s battle here:

Albert was diagnosed with glioblastoma multifome (GBM) stage IV on October 23, 2016. His first surgery removed a golf ball-sized tumor from his left parietal lobe, leaving 5% of the tumor to be treated with radiation and chemotherapy for a year. During his recovery, he had to relearn how to eat, write, and smile again, among other things, but the right side of his body was never the same. Despite the limitations, he did so well with his recovery that it almost seemed like he was back to his previous self. MRI scans came back negative, even two months after his last treatment. A regrowth around the original site was later discovered in March 2018. A second resection was scheduled. A day before his procedure, he learned that there were two new growths in his cerebellum, which were in the last scan but were never caught. At that time, they’ve already  increased in size over the course of two weeks to 4 and 7mm; both were inoperable. Possible leptomeningeal seeding was also noted. On April 2018, Albert went through another surgery. Three weeks later, the tumor came back as a mass. He underwent radiation and chemo again but no clinical trials (e.g. Tocagen) this time since the cancer has spread in his brain. He even wore an Optune device religiously because he wanted to fight. By early summer, the mass had grown much bigger than the original tumor that was removed in 2016; to add to that, GBM had already found its way into Albert’s spine.

He had just finished his first cycle of Ibrance after two chemo treatments failed. In a matter of four weeks, the symptoms had progressed to a point where he couldn’t stand, walk, eat, drink, speak, comprehend, remember… The headaches and the seizures were more frequent and intense this time. On the first week of September 2018, he was admitted to the hospital again. He was in the neuro ICU for four days, and then three in the oncology ward. The doctors had told his wife, Pao, that there was nothing else they could do for him; that hospice was the next step. She was told that he only had weeks  left. His family and his close friends knew it wasn’t his time yet. Albert did everything right. Before he started Ibrance last summer, he did another research to get a second opinion which he was unable to finish because of how fast he deteriorated. With help, several doctors from out of state were contacted during his hospital stay. It was after that that he underwent another round of aggressive radiotherapy followed by Avastin,  bi-weekly, two weeks after he was discharged. He stayed at his mother-in-law’s home after his hospital discharge where he got 24-hour care. His wife, has stayed by his side through it all. She has gone to work to care for sick people then go home to care for Albert. Because Albert’s condition has deteriorated, she has had to call-off work numerous times to care for him. During this time, he did holistic treatments, as well as PT and OT. By the end of September, he was already eating on his own, sitting up, talking, standing, walking short distances…
The right side was much weaker, but he was back.

On January 2, 2019, he went back to the hospital again for chest pain in addition to his low back pain that radiated down to his right leg. More LMD was found in his spine. A full spinal radiation therapy was done which gave him much needed relief. MRI in late January showed that the “sugarcoating” in his brain had cleared significantly, with tumor shrinkage in the left parietal lobe. The two tumors in the cerebellum were right were his doctors wanted them, which was good news. He did have a tumor sitting in is low back, about an inch in size.  During this visit, Albert signed a release to publish his case in the medical journal in order to help others who may encounter the same rare metastasis. He did so well after for weeks after radiation until he started rapidly declining again in March.

During his Neuro-Oncology appointment on April 10th, the MRI showed aggressive progression of both LMD & GBM, taking over his entire central nervous system (CNS). His doctor brought up hospice care. Albert chose to do another round of Avastin before he decided to stop Avastin on April 29th. Two weeks was the estimated time he had left since then. Hospice care started on May 1st. During this time, Albert was barely verbal. His decline was so rapid, but he never had any personality change through it all. He celebrated his wife's birthday one last time on May 2nd. He slept more during the next days, needing reminder to swallow his food, water, medications. May 5th was when he didn't need any of those reminders, and he ate well, and stayed up longer. He was more alert. His best friends from high school were all there that entire weekend. He slept all day four days later, barely drinking or eating anything. Friday morning, he was alert and coherent, but couldn't verbalize. He was awake early and stayed up until about 2 PM. Saturday morning, beginning 4 AM, he was already confused, looking for a hand to hold, and held it tight when he did. He stayed awake until about noon, and then slept until he passed away at 11:30 that night.

We were given eight, wonderful months with Albert after the doctors said he only had weeks left in September.
He fought GBM several times with grit and grace, beating brain cancer, recovery after recovery, coming back stronger than ever. During these times, he brought us all together, expanding our circle -- our family. He made each one of us shine in love and friendship. It was Albert who made us all look at life differently and to appreciate every moment we get to spend with the people we care about. To make sure we tell the people we love how much they are  loved. To let go of negativity because time is never promised. 

Live forward. Love well. Don't become a product of circumstance. Be shaped and empowered by love, and soldier on fighting the good fight of faith.

Thank you, Albert. Rest easy now.

#neveralone #paobertadventures #defeatgbm #whywait