Sad News- Loss of a Valued Member

Like he was for so many others, Pat was a source of so much support, information, wisdom and humor to me as I shared with him my own trials in surviving cancer and coping with the horrible side effects from the combination of chemo + radiation therapy for head/neck patients.  We first made personal contact about three years ago as my ORN started to surface in a way that made it clear it was serious.  Pat was there to help me understand what was going on and what my prospects were.  He never sugar coated things, but at the same time would offer words that allowed me hope that maybe it would turn around.

We PM'ed a lot, many times not talking about cancer--just things we shared about life--his love of the outdoors, travelling, hunting (him, not me), SCUBA diving, and New Zealand.  After I was well into my recovery from my jaw resection in the fall of 2014, I decided that I wanted to meet him in person.  But as I was getting more able to travel, he got more into the advanced stages of his fourth bout with cancer, and we were not able to make that happen.  Even so, I can still picture in my mind what we would have talked about if we had been able to meet.

The long list of acknowledgements of his passing, and the many stories I've read tell me that I was far from the only one here who knew Pat in the same way, and felt his inner strength and humor from the distance.

There is a hole in my heart right now.

Mike

hawk711 said:

a Friend to all

 I can only say that Pat helped us all with his knowledge and charm.  He is missed by all of us oldies.

rest in peace long Term Survivor

steve

 

I'm really sorry to hear this.

Pat showed me a tremendous amount of kindness and warmth and knowladge when I was having my oral cancer scare.

RIP.