John Lee - Colon Cancer And Family Fund
Donation protected
Update (2/4/19):
My brother HingKui John Lee passed away on 1/25/2019, just 8 days after he left the hospital and checked into a rehab center in hopes of regaining his strength to continue his fight with cancer. I cannot imagine the pain he must have felt, considering how fast this disease took his life. I am glad I was able to spend time with him in his last days, not only to witness the courage that he had in facing his greatest adversity, but also to meet many of his friends who came to visit him. They all had many great things to say about him, and shared with me their stories of how they met, what a great friend he was to them, and how he has made an impact on their lives. I am in awe of the admiration given to my brother, and I am proud to have him as my family.
John's funeral was held on 2/2/2019, on a beautiful Saturday morning and attended by more than one hundred loving friends and family. John's lovely and talented daughter, Moncher Lee, dedicated a song to him on the violin, and played "You Raised Me Up", by Josh Groban. It was a very touching performance that complemented a lovely service. John was laid to rest at Kensico Cemetery, in Valhalla, NY. Fifty eight of his family and closest friends attended the burial.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Story:
My brother HingKui John Lee was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer with liver metastasis in September 2017. He began chemotherapy treatment in November of that year, after recovering from two emergency surgeries (one to remove part of his colon and another to place a stent in his artery to alleviate edema to his legs) and a paracentesis, a procedure that drained excess fluids in his abdomen caused by his diseased liver. John responded well to the chemo treatments and was able to return to work in March 2018. He would continue to receive chemo every other week to keep the cancer in check.
In December 2018, John received frightening news that the different treatments that he has been taking are no longer effective in controlling the cancer. He was given Mitomycin-C by his oncologist as a third-line treatment on January 2nd, 2019. A week later, his belly had grown so big that he had to go to the hospital to have a paracentesis procedure to remove the ascites built up in his abdomen. The hospital staff removed 5.5 Liters of fluid from his body. He went home the next day but developed a fever the day after. He went back to the hospital on January 11th 2019 and has not returned home since.
Over the next few days, his appetite decreased drastically and the severity of pain he felt increased. He is normally a person with high pain tolerance and his facial expressions indicated he was suffering. When he could no longer tolerate the pain, he asked for hydromorphone. While the medication relieved some of his pain, it also gave him many side effects, including drowsiness, nausea, headaches, and difficulty in using the bathroom. A second paracentesis was performed on him and this time over 7 Liters of fluid was drained from him. A Tenckhoff catherer was put into his abdominal area so that future drainage could be done at his bedside. Three bedside drainage have been done so far, draining 300ml, 600ml, and 975ml respectively, with future drainage to be done every other day.
John's health continued to worsen during his stay at the hospital. Then on January 16th, two weeks after his latest chemo treatment, doctors from the hospital and the cancer treatment center had a meeting with John and his family to discuss his condition and treatment options he should consider. He was told that due to the aggressiveness of his cancer, his prognosis was very bad and he has at most 6 months to live. He had two options: A) stop cancer treatment and focus on hospice care that would manage his symptoms and provide comfort for the remainder of his life or B) go to rehab, attempt to overcome the symptoms caused by the cancer, regain his strength, and maybe try Mitomycin again or Oxaliplantin that gave him a bad reaction before. The chances of succeeding are very very slim to none and the possible risks and side effects could outweigh the benefits. John, being the fighter that he is, chose to go to a rehabilitation center to continue his battle with cancer. Myself, my two other siblings, and his wife are fully supportive of his decision, and will stay by his side day and night to provide care for him in this fight for his life.
John Lee is a very altruistic person and he loves to help people any way he can. After college, he worked as a social worker for some time for the Chinese American Planning Council and provided services to new immigrants to overcome language barriers they faced in their adopted country. After becoming a father of two special needs children, he left a good paying corporate job and went back to school to become a Speech Language Pathologist to help his own children as well as others in the special needs community. He is an advocate for kids with special needs and often tries to educate the public about Autism Spectrum Disorder. At church, he was involved in ESL teachers training and special needs children Sunday School. He became very involved in his cancer support community by serving in its Participant Advisory Council and helping with fundraising efforts. He has a big heart, a generous personality, and has made a difference in the lives of many people. He is filled with love, hope, faith, and strength.
Read More About John Here
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2018/12/26/feature/what-is-it-like-to-cast-a-ballot-while-facing-death-one-mans-story/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dfcaca94bad8
John and his family really need your help. John's wife Sharon is taking an unpaid leave from work to care for John and their kids. They currently don't have any income. The money raised from this campaign will help with their living expenses, existing and future medical bills, other future costs as a result of this disease, and funding for special needs trusts set up for their children. Please contribute if you can. No amount is too small.
Thank you very much.
(Photo taken August 27, 2017 - 213.5 lbs)
(He had lost 50 lbs by November 23, 2017)
(Looking pretty good in May 2018 doing the Parents with Exceptional Children Run With Me 5k)
(Abdominal distension - 1/9/19. More than a 1.5 gallons of fluid had to be drained.)
(1/20/19 - He has gotten weaker and could no longer feed himself.)
(1/21/19 - He drifts in and out of sleep and is often tired.)
My brother HingKui John Lee passed away on 1/25/2019, just 8 days after he left the hospital and checked into a rehab center in hopes of regaining his strength to continue his fight with cancer. I cannot imagine the pain he must have felt, considering how fast this disease took his life. I am glad I was able to spend time with him in his last days, not only to witness the courage that he had in facing his greatest adversity, but also to meet many of his friends who came to visit him. They all had many great things to say about him, and shared with me their stories of how they met, what a great friend he was to them, and how he has made an impact on their lives. I am in awe of the admiration given to my brother, and I am proud to have him as my family.
John's funeral was held on 2/2/2019, on a beautiful Saturday morning and attended by more than one hundred loving friends and family. John's lovely and talented daughter, Moncher Lee, dedicated a song to him on the violin, and played "You Raised Me Up", by Josh Groban. It was a very touching performance that complemented a lovely service. John was laid to rest at Kensico Cemetery, in Valhalla, NY. Fifty eight of his family and closest friends attended the burial.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Story:
My brother HingKui John Lee was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer with liver metastasis in September 2017. He began chemotherapy treatment in November of that year, after recovering from two emergency surgeries (one to remove part of his colon and another to place a stent in his artery to alleviate edema to his legs) and a paracentesis, a procedure that drained excess fluids in his abdomen caused by his diseased liver. John responded well to the chemo treatments and was able to return to work in March 2018. He would continue to receive chemo every other week to keep the cancer in check.
In December 2018, John received frightening news that the different treatments that he has been taking are no longer effective in controlling the cancer. He was given Mitomycin-C by his oncologist as a third-line treatment on January 2nd, 2019. A week later, his belly had grown so big that he had to go to the hospital to have a paracentesis procedure to remove the ascites built up in his abdomen. The hospital staff removed 5.5 Liters of fluid from his body. He went home the next day but developed a fever the day after. He went back to the hospital on January 11th 2019 and has not returned home since.
Over the next few days, his appetite decreased drastically and the severity of pain he felt increased. He is normally a person with high pain tolerance and his facial expressions indicated he was suffering. When he could no longer tolerate the pain, he asked for hydromorphone. While the medication relieved some of his pain, it also gave him many side effects, including drowsiness, nausea, headaches, and difficulty in using the bathroom. A second paracentesis was performed on him and this time over 7 Liters of fluid was drained from him. A Tenckhoff catherer was put into his abdominal area so that future drainage could be done at his bedside. Three bedside drainage have been done so far, draining 300ml, 600ml, and 975ml respectively, with future drainage to be done every other day.
John's health continued to worsen during his stay at the hospital. Then on January 16th, two weeks after his latest chemo treatment, doctors from the hospital and the cancer treatment center had a meeting with John and his family to discuss his condition and treatment options he should consider. He was told that due to the aggressiveness of his cancer, his prognosis was very bad and he has at most 6 months to live. He had two options: A) stop cancer treatment and focus on hospice care that would manage his symptoms and provide comfort for the remainder of his life or B) go to rehab, attempt to overcome the symptoms caused by the cancer, regain his strength, and maybe try Mitomycin again or Oxaliplantin that gave him a bad reaction before. The chances of succeeding are very very slim to none and the possible risks and side effects could outweigh the benefits. John, being the fighter that he is, chose to go to a rehabilitation center to continue his battle with cancer. Myself, my two other siblings, and his wife are fully supportive of his decision, and will stay by his side day and night to provide care for him in this fight for his life.
John Lee is a very altruistic person and he loves to help people any way he can. After college, he worked as a social worker for some time for the Chinese American Planning Council and provided services to new immigrants to overcome language barriers they faced in their adopted country. After becoming a father of two special needs children, he left a good paying corporate job and went back to school to become a Speech Language Pathologist to help his own children as well as others in the special needs community. He is an advocate for kids with special needs and often tries to educate the public about Autism Spectrum Disorder. At church, he was involved in ESL teachers training and special needs children Sunday School. He became very involved in his cancer support community by serving in its Participant Advisory Council and helping with fundraising efforts. He has a big heart, a generous personality, and has made a difference in the lives of many people. He is filled with love, hope, faith, and strength.
Read More About John Here
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2018/12/26/feature/what-is-it-like-to-cast-a-ballot-while-facing-death-one-mans-story/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dfcaca94bad8
John and his family really need your help. John's wife Sharon is taking an unpaid leave from work to care for John and their kids. They currently don't have any income. The money raised from this campaign will help with their living expenses, existing and future medical bills, other future costs as a result of this disease, and funding for special needs trusts set up for their children. Please contribute if you can. No amount is too small.
Thank you very much.
(Photo taken August 27, 2017 - 213.5 lbs)(He had lost 50 lbs by November 23, 2017)(Looking pretty good in May 2018 doing the Parents with Exceptional Children Run With Me 5k)(Abdominal distension - 1/9/19. More than a 1.5 gallons of fluid had to be drained.)(1/20/19 - He has gotten weaker and could no longer feed himself.)(1/21/19 - He drifts in and out of sleep and is often tired.)Fundraising team: Fundraising team (3)
Hing Lee
Organizer
Bernards Township, NJ
Sharon Liang-Lee
Beneficiary
Jean Lee
Team member
HINGFOO LEE
Team member