Hello, my name is Jan. I am the proud mother of an American Soldier, who is battling his own battle with cancer.
In September Cpl. Andrew Cunningham was accepted to join Special Forces Trainging. During a complete physical, a chest xray was done. What was found, three tumors. He was stationed at Camp Stanley, Korea at the time. I flew to Korea to be with him and on Oct. 9, 2007 he had surgery to remove the mass. On October 23 we found out that it was cancer. Testecular cancer that had spread.
Andrew is now at Schofield Baracks in Hawaii. He has just finished his 3rd round of chemo at Tripler Army Medical Center. Recent blood work has showed that there is a cancer marker that is not responding to treatments, so a MRI needs to be done on his head to determine if it has spread to the brain. He begins the 4th round of chemo in 2 weeks.
Andrew is a very strong young man, 3 days after his surgery in Korea, he reinlisted to the United States Army for another 6 years. I was there and so very proud of my son.
I am looking forward to participating in Relay for Life 2008. This year I will be honoring Andrew. I truely believe that he will beat this demon that has taken over his body. Faith & Hope keep Andrew, myself and his two little brothers strong...they have not seen their big brother for over a year. And now they need to more than ever. Please keep our family in your prayers. God will not give us more than we can handle.
God Bless,
Jannetta
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Your Hero, Mine, Too!
Dear Janetta, I read your post late last night, but wanted to think of just the right words, so I waited to respond until this morning. You and your son are a team in the truest meaning of the word. I could tell because he must get his strength and beautiful attitude straight from you.
For such a young man he shows an amazing amount of maturity and courage. (Again, I bet you have a lot to do with that, too.)
Janetta, my husband (a Multiple Myeloma survivor) and I have made a film called "Expect A Miracle" about a young modern-day cowboy and his battle against cancer. It is just an independent film made by about 100 volunteers, but we are very proud of it and the story it tells. We would like very much to send you two DVDs, one for you, and the other for your son. I know there is a lot of downtime in a hospital, so maybe watching the movie will fill some of those hours. And as you both watch, we hope you will think of all the people who had a hand in making it. Each of us had some connection to cancer and hate the disease just as you do. The film was made for the benefit of wonderful people just like your son who continue to fight back. So,when you think about it, this movie is his movie and his story. And whenever I watch our movie again, the both of you will be in my thoughts and prayers.
I will need your home address, so we can mail the DVDs to you and your son. I'm including my husband's email business address so you can get in touch with us, privately. His name is Tom. Here it the address: ceo@newartistfilms.com
Peace
Priss
Andrew....thanks for your service
and your committment to beating this disease! You are a true hero in every sense of the word.
You won't be far from my thoughts during these trying times.
Jannetta...I know how hard this is on you right now...and I know that you know you are not alone. There are thousands right beside you...
Please update your blog with Andrew's progress...I will check back often...
~PJ