In memory of Joshua Piscitelli. Help support his family.

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we have to share the news of the far too early passing of Joshua Piscitelli on Sunday, 14th July, 2024.

Josh was a son, brother, uncle, husband and great friend. He was also a father to his 20 month old son, Hunter. Josh was just 28 years young when he passed away.

At age 27, in June 2023, Josh was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the tongue which had also spread to lymph nodes in his neck.

In July 2023, Josh underwent major surgery to remove the cancerous tissue and followed on with radiotherapy treatment that concluded in October 2023.

By January 2024, at Josh’s first routine PET scan, he found out his cancer was back. He commenced chemotherapy immediately but after a couple of failed rounds his treatment was intensified. Josh then fell victim to an extreme side effect of chemotherapy which put his body into septic shock in March 2024. With multiple surgeons and specialists surprised Josh had made it through the never before survived, deeming him a medical miracle, it was then revealed Josh had suffered multiple strokes as a result of the septic shock.

Josh commenced yet another intense road to recovery. His rehabilitation was coming along in leaps and bounds but unfortunately a short time later was advised that chemotherapy treatment wasn't working and Josh's condition was now terminal, less than 12 months after his initial diagnosis.

With all of the emotional pain and stress that death, cancer and terminal illness brings, it can also bring massive financial burdens. Josh was the primary income provider for his household and should have had his whole working life ahead of him. Josh's wife Chelsea and son Hunter are now left to pick up the pieces as they prepare for major financial and emotional shifts.

We would like to raise money for Josh's wife and son to help with both funeral expenses and future living expenses for his young family.

Any donation is so greatly appreciated and will go a long way in providing Josh's family with some comfort during this awful time. Please keep Josh's family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.

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Original post from August 2023:

My name is Callan Oorschot and I write to you today on behalf of my friend Joshua Piscitelli as he has been tragically struck with some life-altering circumstances and we need your help.

I would like to share some insight into my friend Josh and his current situation.

Joshua Piscitelli is one of our Mechanics for Diggers and Drills here at Royhill, many of you may already know him but for the one's who haven't yet had the privilege to cross paths, I hope you do shorty.

From his Roy Hill family, he is described as easygoing, helpful, hard-working, generous and just an outright genuine guy who we are lucky to have.

But in his personal world he plays a much bigger role. Josh has worked hard from a young age, with a smart head on his shoulders, discipline and commitment to providing himself with a life he wanted, with a life he was willing to earn and he had done that.

Financially saving enough for a deposit to buy his own home, marrying the woman of his dream's and together having a healthy baby boy Hunter only 8 months ago, it would seem Josh was on his path to fulfilment at only age 27.

I wish I could continue writing about Josh’s life a few weeks ago as it was blue sky's. Spending his free time with his wife out fishing, camping, and watching his young boy learn and grow. Creating those memories and taking advantage of the life he had provided for himself and his family. But unfortunately, it's no longer sunny days for the Piscitelli family and this is why we need your help!

A couple of months ago Josh had a suspected ulcer on his tongue that wouldn't go away. Causing a lot of discomfort and slowly getting worse. After months of antibiotics, he persisted in getting answers. Attending to a few different doctors he finally got a biopsy carried out, but the results were going to be his biggest nightmare.

At 27 Josh was diagnosed with Stage 2 Cancer in his tongue and throat. 

This heart-wrenching information had Josh and his wife Chelsea in disbelief. Hoping for a mistake, misinformation or to wake up from this nightmare. Anything just not this. But unfortunately, that's not the case.

Josh had found himself knocked down, laying in bed and kissed by cancer.

After a lot of tears, a lot of hugs, anxiousness, a racing heartbeat, confusion, frustration and the truth that comes with Cancer, uncertainty.

He did what he had to do, fight.

Josh dug deep, stood up and got straight to work with no messing around and within a week of diagnosis Josh was blessed enough to get a spot in surgery. After a 14-hour-long surgery taking skin and nerves from his left arm and grafting it on his tongue and throat miraculously the surgery was a success.

Now for the hard part. Recovery

After waking up to having to eat and breathe through tubes the long road to recovery has begun. With doctors and nurses coming in every 30 minutes to see how things are going you can imagine it's hard to get any rest.

With an abundance of family, visits to keep his spirit high. Communicating via notes on his phone he said to me "At 27 I can't believe how quickly things can change"

He is not wrong there. The worries I had going on in life disappeared as they were minuet in comparison. It's crazy how perspective can dramatically change your outlook on a situation. Seeing Josh lay there and what he and his family are going through reminded me to cherish what we do have, acknowledge our achievements and too show appreciation for each day as it comes.

For now, we wait in limbo for the result of Josh’s surgery. Confirmation whether further treatment will be required, chemo etc. Josh is looking at over 6 months of rehabilitation and a recovery timeline from the surgery alone.

His strength and his attitude towards this recovery are nothing but inspiring to witness. Josh has no doubt he will beat this as do we all. It's going to be a lot of hard work, some more dark days to come.

As we all know bills don't stop coming in whether we are home or not.

If you are able to, a donation of any size would contribute greatly to helping keep things on track for Josh and his young family while Josh’s health lies in limbo.

There is nothing more important in life than advocating for your own health, as Josh’s recent journey has shown

Let's show Josh how much love and support is out there for him, if we can, a small donation from you can make a world of difference to Josh and his family thank you all.

I'll keep you updated on Josh's recovery.