Bittens Strong

This campaign is for my brother, Bob Bittens. In the fall of 2008,  Bob was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer called adenoid cystic carcinoma, or ACC.  A tumor had formed in his neck wrapping itself like a snake around his trachea and esophagus.  Though it took a heroic effort, Bob convinced  a group of doctors in Hartford to try a program of aggressive radiation treatment and chemotherapy.  The docs gave it a 50/50 chance of working  but to everyone's amazement, it worked. Since the end of 2009, Bob has continued to "manage" the disease. Despite showing up in his liver and lungs, his heath was relatively stable.... until now.

Recently Bob has started losing his voice. Along with losing his voice,  he started to become extremely winded after very little exertion.  The diagnosis is bilateral vocal fold paralysis. The nerves that control vocal chord movement start at the base of the brain, travel through the neck and the chest, and ultimately return to the voice box.  His problem could be caused by a tumor in the neck or lungs, a lesion anywhere on the neural pathway to the larynx, or some unknown head, neck, or chest trauma. 

Bob lost his job in August 2014. Unemployment comp ran out in February.  He recently took on a part-time job but he's not sure how long he'll be physically able to continue that.  

We are asking family and friends to contribute to help alleviate some of Bob's financial stress so he can focus on his health. He beat this monster back once - help him beat it back again!!