Asian American family opens fundraiser for father whose cancer has spread to his brain

September 10, 2021

An Asian American family living in Marietta, Ga., has launched

An unfortunate relapse: Ronnie Chin, who recently turned 61, was diagnosed with stage 4 nasopharyngeal cancer in 2017. After receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatments, he became cancer-free for two years until his condition relapsed in July.

Ronnie’s family said he first received radiation therapy between June and Sept. 2017. He started chemotherapy in the same month, which lasted until March 2018.
Sadly, signs and symptoms of Ronnie’s cancer returned this year. After a recent CT scan and two biopsies, doctors found that his cancer had not only returned, but has already spread from his nose to his brain.
Leng Chin, one of Ronnie’s daughters, told NextShark that her father suffered a throat infection for a month and could not speak until he was given steroids. She also recalled a time when he almost fell after his first recent biopsy because he was unable to walk after the hospital had given him too much fluids.
There had also been noticeable changes in Ronnie’s behavior. Prior to his diagnosis, the management at his workplace informed his family of these changes. “It was hard for him to get out of bed to the point where I, my sister and my mom had to continuously yell at him to get up,” Leng said. “He wasn’t himself, so eventually his work let him go.”
Ronnie’s doctors have not specified the current stage of his cancer, but he has resumed chemotherapy. He was barely eating prior to restarting treatment, but he is now back to three meals.

A family struggle: Ronnie’s condition has affected the entire family, who are now “working twice as hard,” according to Leng. She started a fundraiser in August to help lighten the load of her family.

“It has been very hard on the whole family because I took an internship in New York before he was diagnosed, so the whole time I was very anxious and upset at myself for not being able to help,” Leng told NextShark. “I was able to visit my family for a weekend in August and seeing the condition that my dad was in broke me.”
Leng said her mother now works two jobs on top of keeping the family together, while her sister is finishing nursing school and has been working at two hospitals. Because she cannot be physically present, she decided to set up a GoFundMe page to help out.
At present, Ronnie is able to perform simple activities such as washing the dishes, taking out the trash, going out to eat and even visiting the Georgia Aquarium for his 61st birthday. However, his body remains fragile and bills are piling up.
“I can’t imagine what my family went through while I was away, but I’ll be home at the end of this month,” Leng said. “My dad’s medical bills are going up and my family is very stressed about money — especially my mom.”
Leng hopes to raise $30,000 for her father’s treatment. As of this writing, her fundraiser has collected $4,115.

Featured Image via Leng Chin

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