Dear Readers
It’s with a heavy heart that I write this message. My younger brother Jeffrey Poehlmann passed away from complications due to a sudden and fierce reoccurrence of his lung cancer in his “good” lung. Jeff, as you all know from reading this blog, spent the last four years of his life with the knowledge that he had an unwelcome and invasive guest in his body and forged ahead every day looking to the future and taking as much positive living in the moments as he could. He knew he was working on borrowed time and wanted to do as much good as he could for the advancement of lung cancer awareness through this blog, his writing for www.lungcancer.net, and his Patreon site. Hopefully, we will be able to round up all this writing in book form at some point, one of the goals he had in mind from the start.
Jeffrey’s last treatment, which you read about, was taking its toll. The Poziotiniv chemo treatment began May 23rd. This targeted therapy was appearing to work incredibly well at reducing the main tumor marker and other metastases, while at the same time providing a litany of other symptoms including a full body rash that all his remaining energies went to battling. Since the 26th of September, Jeffrey’s doctors took him off these meds to give his body a chance to recover.
He subsequently developed what appeared to everyone to be pneumonia. As pneumonia symptoms seemed to progress and his cough kept him from any sleep, Jeff began taking oxygen on October 10th during his last week at home. On Thursday morning, while his wife was at work and daughter at school, Jeff called an Uber to take him over to USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center for evaluations.
That Thursday the x-rays showed complications in his formerly good lung; he was placed in a private room in ICU. His lung was then drained giving Jeff incredible relief and the ability to feel well enough to easily communicate and had what he called his most restful and full sleep in weeks that night. Unfortuntately, the bronchoscopy on Friday showed a huge cancer invasion of the lung and it was obvious to the hospital staff that he wasn’t long for this world.
With his typical good nature and positive outlook, Jeff continued through till Sunday morning Oct 21st, 2018 at 3:37 am when he finally let go. He was with family his final day and able to be fully present with his daughter and wife, two surviving siblings and his mother to say goodbye. We had a few tears, plenty of smiles and lots of talk about how grateful he was for the love and support all around him — family, friends, caregivers, and this extended community of you, his readers.
We will continue to maintain this site with more information and postings, albeit on a more limited basis. His last wish in his Will was to establish a fund for his daughter’s future education. Please follow this link to the GoFundMe site that we set up for the college fund.
https://www.gofundme.com/aubrey039s-education-fund
In the process of fulfilling Jeff’s wishes, like posting this announcement on his blog, I am frequently overcome by the love and support Jeff received from you, his readers, as well as from friends and family across the US. He loved well and was well loved.
Best,
Christopher Poehlmann
10-29-2018
Christopher, thank you for the update. Just like Jeff to anticipate our need to know – Jeff supported so many by sharing his journey and I am grateful we reconnected through my family’s journey with cancer – it gave us a little permission to joke about things we’re not supposed to. I can’t quite express how much Jeff taught me since we reconnected – these things come to mind: to think critically and to live more mindfully – are two things that Jeff helped me to understand. Much love to you and all of Jeff’s family and community. May his memory be a blessing.
Well said, Christopher! I know it wasn’t easy for you to write this. May this blog continue to serve Jeff’s purpose: love.
Thank you, Christopher, for sharing. I keep you all close in my heart.
To Christopher, Jeffs Wife and daughter. I am devastated to hear that Jeff has left this earth. I met Jeff on line a few years ago when we discovered my own husbands terminal cancer. We went on to communicate by email and did a skype interview for his pages. I loved his sense of humour and positivity. We laughed a lot, taking the piss with dark humour about the horrible and uncontrolled events bought about by cancer. He from suffers side, me from carer. He helped me understand more of what my husband was feeling and hiding and I hope that I provided him with some support. My daughter is a very similiar age to yours and I know their tender age was one of out biggest shared concerns. My son is a little older. Thank you Christopher for sharing the news. For Jeffs wife and daughter. Thank you for sharing Jeff with the rest of us in the cancer community, he was incredibily generous with information, humour and compassion. I feel honoured to have made friends with him, all be it across the other side of the world. If you ever have a wish to come and visit Perth, Australia you would be most welcome at our home. I can not imagine the pain and devastation that you are trying to deal with, please know I am thinking of you. Take one second at a time, take and ask for help offered, show and share your pain with each other. He was a brave and funny man. he made a difference. Thinking of you.. Lizz
Hello Christopher and Jeff’s family. The team at Health Storylines are saddened to read of Jeff’s passing. It was approximately a year and a half ago that we were in conversation with Jeff concerning his collaboration with us as a lung cancer ambassador. Jeff was enthusiastic about the initiative and made the time to blog on a range of themes and topics centred around his personal experience with lung cancer. He was a deep thinker and his content always left his readers with more than enough to reflect on. Please accept our deepest condolences and know that our thoughts and prayers are extend to you and the entire family all during this difficult time. May Jeff’s legacy live on.
In times like these I don’t know what to say.
I can only say that Jeff was a beacon of positive energy for many people who suffered from this terrible disease. Thanks Jeff wherever you are!
To all family and friends my deepest condolences…
I stumbled upon Jeff’s website and began reading his blogs just days ago. I am in the process of trying to wrap my head around the horrific disease of cancer; it’s treatment, it’s effect on the body, what’s true or not, how people on both sides cope with it. I am doing this because yet another close family member of mine has been diagnosed, and our previous experience did not turn out well. As I read through Jeff’s meditations, I did so with the assumption that he was still alive. In fact, I hoped to send a message to him today. To my utter sadness and dismay, as I read the last couple of postings, I came to the realization that he had passed… months ago! I guess this feeling of surprise is a testament to the conversational and personal style of his writing- it’s as if he is right there talking with you. His thoughts and advise continue to be an inspiration, so, through his words he lives on. To his friends and family, and all others who find themselves in this situation, I can tell you from experience that time does numb the pain, but it does not erase the memory. Godspeed, Jeffrey Poehlmann.
Thank you. J had a lot of words left in him, but didn’t have the time to finish crafting what he wanted to say. The unpublished articles he left to LungCancer.net are being released in his memory, as a way to let him continue to contribute to this conversation. Everyone who knew and loved him hopes there will be many more like you who can draw comfort and be informed by the words he left behind.