Dean Aydelotte's Fight Against Cancer

Update -

Hello Everyone.

I wanted to send out a couple new updates on my dad and what has been going on since the last post here.

As always, thank you to everyone who has reached out, donated, sent prayers, and kept my dad and our family in your thoughts.

A lot has happened since the last update.

The lump on his neck essentially “burst” open, causing extreme pain and a very long hospital stay.

We believe the lump was a malignant fungating wound. These kinds of wounds are present in 5-14% of advanced cancer patients and are a result of cancerous cells infiltrating and proliferating in the skin. Malignant fungating wounds are often present in the last 6 months of life and therefore become symbols of impending death for patients and their families.

After quite some time in the hospital, doctors were able to treat the wound and it has healed slightly since the rupture. My aunt Tina is caring for his found twice a day to keep it clean. Eating and drinking fluids is still no easy task, however he is slowly trying new foods every day alongside the feeding tube.

He has officially started his first round of chemotherapy to treat the cancer that has spread from his neck to his lung and will need to complete 6 rounds of chemo every two weeks.

He is no longer receiving any short-term disability from his work but is working to get approved for unemployment as soon as possible.

I am reaching out today to ask anyone who sees this post, to please share again. Anything and everything helps.

My dad, my family, and I thank you for every share, prayer and donation.

Thank you.

Chaynna Aydelotte

5/30/24

__________________________________

Update -

Hi Everyone.

Firstly, thank you to everyone who has donated. You have no idea how much that means to me and my family.

I wanted to give an update on my dad. The cancer has spread to his right upper lung. The Doctor described them as small and not very many. Bright side is, he will only need chemotherapy this time around. No radiation.

When taking a biopsy of the cancer in his lung, his lung almost collapsed, resulting in another extended hospital stay.

Earlier this week, my dad woke up with a lump on the side of his neck which grew almost the size of a baseball overnight. It has been very painful to move his neck, and he was unable to drink. After an ultrasound and CT scan, we found the lump was filled with fluid and had an infection. He was transferred to yet another hospital for neck surgery.

Luckily, the Doctor decided against neck surgery and turned to antibiotics and steroids to kill the infection. The lump has gone down, but not by much.

On a brighter note, he did meet with a speech therapist who taught him a new trick to drink fluids with a little more ease. Yesterday he had a feeding tube put back in and should be starting chemo very soon. He has lost over 100 pounds since the beginning of this and is very weak and malnourished.

My dad's health insurance through work has been cut off completely. We filed a dispute with the insurance company, which was denied twice. He has no income and is surviving off of all of your donations and what little money my stepmom is able to bring home when she can make it to work.

We are hoping to raise a little more money to help get them through the next few months of chemotherapy. Again, I cannot express my gratitude for all of your donations and prayers.

Thank you.

Chaynna Aydelotte

3/29/24

__________________________________

Hello Everyone, my name is Chaynna.

My father is Kenneth Dean Aydelotte Jr. and has been fighting throat cancer since May of 2023.

If you know my dad, you know that he is the life of the party. A spark goes off when he walks into a room and everyone smiles because his personality is so big and goofy. He is the type of guy who can have a conversation with anybody and leave them feeling like they just made a new friend. He likes to talk, eat and smile big. He steps up to the plate when others drop the ball. He took in my half-brother and step-sister as if they were his own children and loves them unconditionally. He is an amazing husband to my step-mom, wonderful brother and son to my uncle and grandparents, and the most important man in my life.

Since he was diagnosed with cancer, that big smile everyone loves so much has been slowly stripped away. After completing radiation and chemo, he has been left with the inability to talk and eat as normal. He has lost a scary amount of weight in an extremely short amount of time due to the difficulty of eating solid foods. He has been living off of protein shakes that are still a struggle to get down because of the swelling in his throat from the radiation/chemo. Without the proper nutrients your body needs to function, he has been out of work for months at a time. My step-mom, Michelle Aydelotte, has become his full-time caretaker, preventing her from being able to work as well.

While hospital bills, ambulance rides, doctors' visits, and monthly home bills stack up against them, I ask if you have anything to spare, to please help my family in this time of need.

We are hoping to raise money to help get them through a few more months of uncertainty while we wait for PET scan results and can hopefully begin making a full recovery.

Thank you for your support, love and time.

Chaynna Aydelotte