Wisconsin man suffering from cancer asks for Christmas cards as dying wish
PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. (WSET) -- One man from Wisconsin is asking for Christmas cards as his dying wish after doctors told him he only has months to live.
According to WISC, in January, Gene Weittenhiller said he had his prostate gland removed after cancer was detected.
He said his family celebrated, thinking he was cancer-free but when a radiology report came back, he learned that a tumor was growing on his pancreas. The cancer then spread to his liver.
WISC says Weittenhiller started chemotherapy in mid-August but it wasn't working that well.
"It unfortunately showed that it had not caused any shrinkage at all in the primary tumor on my pancreas and, in fact, some of the lesions on my liver, where it's growing, had increased in size," Weittenhiller told WISC.
After choosing to stop treatment three weeks ago, his doctor says he has months left to live.
His wife, Linda, says this whole experience has been "devastating. Mostly because we just retired, we are just enjoying being close to our kids and our grandchildren."
Now, his family is hoping to make this Christmas the most memorable one for Weittenhiller.
His son, Ross, is asking everyone to send as many Christmas cards as possible to his dad to show him that he isn't alone.
Weittenhiller says he is excited to see how many Christmas cards he gets and anticipates an "overwhelming outpouring of love and support of people that I've never met and probably never will, but who cares?," according to WISC.
If you would like to send a Christmas card to Gene, you can mail it here:
Gene Weittenhiller
410 20th St.
Prairie du Sac, WI 53578
