Wed, 14 Jan 2004

From: Stephen Anderson
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004

I spoke to Kim. The cancer he has is Stage IV (or Dukes stage D) Adenocarcinoma Cancer of the Colon. It is not bone cancer, though the cancer is in his bone marrow. His son and sister are working hard to get him into an experimental program at possibly Stanford, or UCSF.

He is very happy to hear that his friends are organizing an event for him.

We are close to securing a venue and date, but still need bands who can bring the people in.

I will send out an announcement in the next day or two with an update on this event, and requests for assistance.

Thanks,
Steve

posted at: 23:27 | path: | permanent link to this entry

From: "Hugh Hegarty"
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004

I spoke to Kim tonight.

The prognosis is not good. It sounds like they caught it very late and it is just a matter of time. He was in a lot of pain initially but now they have him on a morphine patch and it allows him to sleep through the night. His energy level is very low but his spirit is good. He has a strong spiritual base and he says he is at peace and he is ready for this which we must all face. He said he has not given up hope but he is very realistic about his chances. The toughest thing is for his sons Bryn and Kyle. Bryn is with him but Kyle is stationed in Iraq and trying to get home for a two week leave.

Kim says his limited insurance will cover basic things if he pays $3500. However it does not cover his medication which i'm sure can be very costly. All of us who love Kim should definitely try to do something to help out. The most obvious solution would be to use the thing that Kim loved (punk rock music) to help out. We should try to do some sort of benefit show to raise money to help out with his medication costs.

Any ideas about venue and whatnot would be very appreciated.

Kim sends his love to all.

Hugh

posted at: 21:24 | path: | permanent link to this entry

From: Debbie P. Anderson
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004

Hey everybody,

Just got a call from Kim Chowchuvech in California. Unfortunately the news isn't good.

He called to inform me he has just been diagnosed with bone cancer. He was having some pain in his back and since he doesn't have any health insurance he put off going to the doctors . Then he decide to bite the bullet so to speak, and pay cash. They put him on anti-inflammatory med., for the aches and pains he was having. The pain didn't go away. Then they said it was some kind of blood poison. He went to the Good Samaritan hospital which is a hospital that will take care of you for free. They diagnosed him with the cancer and are moving quickly with other tests. He told me he had tears in his eyes leaving there cause he felt someone was finally taking him under their wing.

Kim wanted me to let all the "east coast punk rockers/scene-sters" know and gave me his email address: p.chowchuvech@comcast.net

After all the support he has given us, musically and spiritually, it would be nice if we could help him at this time. Please try and cheer him up with a letter, photo, or words of encouragement. Steve is trying to figure out some way to raise money for him, since he has no insurance and no income. He retired when he moved to California. Let us know if you have any ideas of how to raise a little cash for Kim. We will let you know if we figure anything out. Otherwise, I'm sure he would love to hear from all of you. Give him a e-buzz.

Until then,
Debbie

PS. I don't have a big email address book, so if you know anyone who knows Kim, please forward this letter to them.

posted at: 12:19 | path: | permanent link to this entry