#prayforgus

Gus started his second round of chemotherapy treatment this week. He’s also been doing radiation every day. His temper has been a bit sensitive but his family and friends are there to cheer him on.

Gus and his best friend Will went out for a bite. He was very excited to eat out and ordered three different dishes. His first dish was pork but because he doesn’t have any taste buds, he wasn’t able to taste it. He then ordered an onion soup and couldn’t taste it either. At last, he was able to eat a leek soup.

He was upset about this and has not been wanting to each much. He has lost 33 lbs. The doctor doesn’t know if his taste buds will come back again but he must continue to eat solid food, so his throat functions properly.

Please continue to pray for Gus’ health. We appreciate all your support.

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Gus comenzó su segunda ronda de quimioterapia, más sin embargo, él ha estado recibiendo sesiones de radiaciones a diario. Esto ha afectado un poco su estado de ánimo sintiéndose abatido, triste y en ocasiones irritado, pero su familia y amigos están allí para animarlo y siempre brindarle una palabra de aliento.

Poco después de la primera ronda de tratamientos, Gus y su mejor amigo Will salieron a comer algo. En medio de su emoción por comer sólidos, ordenó tres platos diferentes. Su primer plato fue unas costillas de cochino, seguido de una sopa de cebolla y por ultimo una crema de ajoporro.

Lamentablemente, algunos de los efectos secundarios de la quimioterapia han sido la destrucción de sus papilas gustativas y el no poder saborear la comida le causó mucha frustración por lo que terminó comiéndose solo la cremita. A raíz de esta experiencia se rehúsa a comer y como consecuencia ha perdido 15 kilos por lo que ahora está pesando 67 kilos. Los doctores no garantizan que su sentido del gusto regrese, mas debe continuar haciendo un esfuerzo por comer solidos ya que esto puede traer consecuencias para su garganta.   

A pesar de los desafíos, él se mantiene fuerte y luchando, por lo que cada una de sus oraciones y buenas energías por Gus son y siempre serán bienvenidas. Apreciamos todo el apoyo que nos ofrecen.

In life, there are always ups and downs, good times and bad times. When you get dealt a difficult hand in life, you must try to make the most of it. You cannot just fold and give up, you must bluff and fool everyone and yourself that you can do it.

Even if things look gloomy, always remember that the sun will shine, one day it will shine bright. Gus is always looking at the good things in life, the funny part of the story. He can always find comedy in life and that always makes me feel good. If you laugh and stay happy and never give in, all will always stay positive and good things will happen.

When you hear of someone getting cancer, it is always sad but if you stay strong and upbeat you can win the battle. It will be a long road but you can sing and love along the way.

It has already changed me forever, and I will love and care for people now and appreciate them more than I did. In some ways, Gus has made us all live our lives more. We will be with him through this battle and will help him get through this cancer and win.

On July 29, 2013, our family was confronted with an unexpected challenge: cancer. This diagnosis is not something anyone wants to see happen to a loved one but we know we’re not the only family going through this.

At the early age of 28, my nephew, Gus (Gustavo Alvarez), was diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma in Caracas, Venezuela where he currently resides. From the moment you hear the word cancer, your world seems to change to an upside down position and you are filled with endless questions and little to no answers.

Then, it comes the time that you start looking for answers from all possible sources. Some people have no words, some people say too much, and some say the right things; the things that make you feel better and help you stay hopeful with a boost of revitalization.

You spend day after day at the hospital, on doctors’ visits or doctors’ conferences studying the case, getting lab work done or going through exams and more exams that come up with one prognostic, but no warranties.

I have learned two things through this process: one is that nothing is for sure when it comes to cancer, and what comes to my mind is something I read once: “Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would most likely be worth it.”― Harvey MacKay.

The second thing is that I know for sure my nephew is NOT alone. Life is giving him a chance to fight and we are united to fight this battle together. We are going to help him KICK INTO GEAR, which leads me to share my favorite quote in life: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb. Today, more than ever, I stand by it because we will go far together for Gus.

For the past five months, I’ve experienced many acts of kindness and heard many words of encouragement and grace from our family, friends and caregivers. Cancer is a terrible disease, but it also comes with rays of sunshine. These rays of sunshine are represented by many personal relationships that have grown stronger as well as Karen Malpica, our cousin, whose support helped me and led me to the creation of this blog to honor of Gus.

The main purpose of this blog is to give our family and friends updates on Gus’s progress through his fight with cancer. Also, it serves as a fundraiser to help with the cost of his treatments abroad where every dollar goes a long way. He has undergone three major surgeries in this short time of five months. Now, he is on his way to begin radiation and chemotherapy.

I’d like to share two quotes by my “big Gussie Gus” from some of our conversations. He is such a character and I admire his positivism through this rocky road which is what makes him so special:

“I have episodes where I get depressed but I just say f…. it! I’m not ready to die yet” – Gus

“I’m good and I’m pretty sure I am coming out on top at the end of it all” – Gus

Lastly, we are hoping to reach our modest goal of $7,000 to help Gus and his family cover any medical costs. Click here if you’d like to send a monetary donation or you will find a paypal donation button on the top left. Thank you in advance for your support!