Local family struggles with son's battle against cancer
By Angela Greiner Community Reporter

The Fuller family includes (l to r) David Jr., Lisa, David Sr. and Adam.

Marlborough - Faced with the choice of going to work today or spending time with their son battling cancer, local residents David and Lisa Fuller opt for time with David, 24, whose rare form of lymphoma (gamma delta T-cell) returned several weeks ago. The family was just beginning to financially bail out from David Jr.'s last round of cancer treatment when they were once again faced with that decision.

Adam Fuller, David's brother, 20, has watched his brother fight to live for several years.

"It has been really tough, especially for my parents," Adam said.

Aware of how sick his brother is and out of concern about his parents' financial needs, Adam recently began a fund at Citizens Bank to help them pay their bills. He has appealed to the community for help.

David Jr. was first diagnosed in 2006 with a rare cancer that he contracted as a result of medication he received for a case of ulcerative colitis, according to his mother.

"This is a very rare form of cancer," Lisa said. "David is the ninth person worldwide to get this type of cancer. He is also the only one to survive this long."

David Fuller Jr. is undergoing chemotherapy for a relapse of gamma delta T-cell lymphoma.

In January, after David Jr. had two seizures, the Fullers suspected their worst fears were true and that cancer had returned after nearly a year of remission. David Jr. was hospitalized because as a result of the seizures he had become paralyzed from the waist down. As he continued to deteriorate, David Jr. was placed on life support to assist in his breathing.

In March, doctors at Tufts Medical Center Floating Hospital for Children, where David Jr. is being treated, confirmed that cancer had in fact returned and was in his spine.

"I guess I knew, but I kept hoping they would say he just needs some antibiotics or some cortisone shots," Lisa said.

David Jr.'s current treatment incorporates an aggressive chemotherapy regime coupled with daily radiation treatments. Lisa and David, who have always chosen to stay by their son's side, said that this round of the disease has been the toughest.

Lisa is optimistic that David Jr. will get through this phase, but said that it is difficult to watch her son suffer.

For David Sr., who despite the loss of his job from the St. Mark's School in Southborough and the threat of foreclosure on their house, cannot bring himself to leave his son's bedside.

"The doctors are unsure of what the outcome is," Lisa said. "We just take it day by day, and his father and I are here 24/7 by his side."

Lisa, who grew up and raised her children in Marlborough, hopes that her son will soon be healthy enough to return home. She is also aware that the reality of her son's cancer is that it will return again - the question is just when and where.

"We are fighting it," Lisa said. "It is up to David to tell us when he has had enough."

The Fullers have personally financed years of medical bills on top of their household expenses and traveling costs, and are touched by Adam's effort to help out financially by establishing the fund.

Lisa also said that she worries that when the time comes for David Jr. to return home, they will no longer have a home to bring him to.

"We do not want Adam to feel that we lost the house because he was sick," Lisa said.

For community members interested in donating, the fund has been set up at Citizens Bank. Checks payable to "Benefits for David Fuller" can be mailed to: Hudson Citizens Bank, 17 Pope St., Hudson MA 01749. Or stop into any Citizens Bank and speak with a teller.