I Have Cancer.
Friends,
One week ago today, I was diagnosed with pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. For a week, I have been trying to compose my thoughts on exactly how to explain this to you, and to build up the strength to type this message. But ultimately, there will be time for my feelings on the matter, explanations of how I got to where I am, and all of the rest.
Know that I am home in Denver with my family and have been undergoing intense chemotherapy since last week. Although it has been very physically and emotionally difficult, and will continue to be for quite sometime, all indicators point to the fact that the treatments are doing what they're supposed to. I have undergone some surgery, and will continue to undergo surgeries at regular intervals to make sure everything is going well.
I know many of you have already heard about my diagnosis, as evidenced by the overwhelming deluge of calls, emails, and care packages. Your love has given me a tremendous amount of strength, but please understand that I may not feel up to responding on an individual basis for some time. If you call my phone, one of my family members may answer, and would be happy to discuss what is going on. It might also ring through to voicemail--I assure you that even if you don't hear back from me, I know that you've called and it means a great deal to me.
Both David Reiman and Jason Shwartz have also availed themselves to try to help coordinate information, and have very generously offered to allow people to contact them for broader updates. Reiman's email is david.reiman@yale.edu and Jason's is jasonshwartz@hotmail.com.
I have been in the hospital for a week, and there is talk that if tomorrow's surgery goes well, I might able to go home to my parent's house this weekend. I will be in and out of the hospital for a while, especially during the first month of intense chemo. During this first month, I will for sure not be leaving Denver. After that, if things go well, there is a seven month period of continued chemo that, while intense, might allow me to travel a bit more. Following this, there will be ongoing chemotherapy for three years. Honestly, I don't know what that means for coming back to New York City, or for any other life plans. It is going to be a long road to recovery, and part of keeping my head on straight will be taking the process one day at a time.
For specific concerns relating to Better Than The Machine, please contact Paul Syracuse at paul.syracuse@gmail.com. We will be trying to update contact information uniformly for that stuff soon.
Feel free to send this on to anyone you want to. I'm bad at keeping track of people's emails, and don't want want to imply that be not sending it on to someone specific, I don't want people to know about my condition.
I love you all and appreciate all of your love and support,
--Reid.
One week ago today, I was diagnosed with pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. For a week, I have been trying to compose my thoughts on exactly how to explain this to you, and to build up the strength to type this message. But ultimately, there will be time for my feelings on the matter, explanations of how I got to where I am, and all of the rest.
Know that I am home in Denver with my family and have been undergoing intense chemotherapy since last week. Although it has been very physically and emotionally difficult, and will continue to be for quite sometime, all indicators point to the fact that the treatments are doing what they're supposed to. I have undergone some surgery, and will continue to undergo surgeries at regular intervals to make sure everything is going well.
I know many of you have already heard about my diagnosis, as evidenced by the overwhelming deluge of calls, emails, and care packages. Your love has given me a tremendous amount of strength, but please understand that I may not feel up to responding on an individual basis for some time. If you call my phone, one of my family members may answer, and would be happy to discuss what is going on. It might also ring through to voicemail--I assure you that even if you don't hear back from me, I know that you've called and it means a great deal to me.
Both David Reiman and Jason Shwartz have also availed themselves to try to help coordinate information, and have very generously offered to allow people to contact them for broader updates. Reiman's email is david.reiman@yale.edu and Jason's is jasonshwartz@hotmail.com.
I have been in the hospital for a week, and there is talk that if tomorrow's surgery goes well, I might able to go home to my parent's house this weekend. I will be in and out of the hospital for a while, especially during the first month of intense chemo. During this first month, I will for sure not be leaving Denver. After that, if things go well, there is a seven month period of continued chemo that, while intense, might allow me to travel a bit more. Following this, there will be ongoing chemotherapy for three years. Honestly, I don't know what that means for coming back to New York City, or for any other life plans. It is going to be a long road to recovery, and part of keeping my head on straight will be taking the process one day at a time.
For specific concerns relating to Better Than The Machine, please contact Paul Syracuse at paul.syracuse@gmail.com. We will be trying to update contact information uniformly for that stuff soon.
Feel free to send this on to anyone you want to. I'm bad at keeping track of people's emails, and don't want want to imply that be not sending it on to someone specific, I don't want people to know about my condition.
I love you all and appreciate all of your love and support,
--Reid.