Pam has asked me to give our forum family an update on what has been going on with her, as she’s not up to telling the tale herself.
If you know Pam, you know she would want to give it to you all straight.
So here goes…
Some of you might have noticed @PamPurrs hasn’t been around the forum much of late, no new covers, and I know a few of you were missing her on the last live hang.
Many of you know Pam is a survivor of throat cancer, and took up bass while going through that ordeal and beating the hell out of it. Not too long ago, she marked 3-years cancer free.
However, earlier this year, Pam developed a constant pain in her face that got worse and worse. Thinking dental or ENT issues, she first sought out her dentist and ENT doc, but came up empty. So she went to her oncologist and, unfortunately, found the reason for all this pain.
And I am not happy to say its not a good one.
Pam’s cancer is back, but this time it’s on the back of her tongue. And its making it harder and harder for her to speak and eat, let alone be motivated to play bass or spend a lot of time here on the forum.
As I am sure you can imagine, Pam and her wife Sara are spending most of their time coming to grips with the reality they now face, albeit with a lot of laughter and toughness and love, despite the circumstances.
The prognosis is not the best, and that’s sugar coating it.
The next step is an upcoming surgery to biopsy the cancer and sort out the best chemo cocktail forward, followed by an uphill battle in which the odds are, well, not great.
Pam and I have become close friends in the past year and a half though this forum. When I got really involved in the forum, I felt like Pam was synonymous with the forum, its matriarch. She is an important part of why this place is so damn great and unlike any other online.
I’ve learned a lot from her, we are ‘bass twins’, buying and owning the same ESP Frank Bello bass. I continue to really love getting to know her.
We had a great time putting together the ‘recording yourself’ classes over the last few months, and sharing beers on the Live Hangs. By the way, the last class we did, recording video, Pam’s voice was off, she was in pain, she wasn’t sure why yet, but wanted to do the class anyway for the forum - this is our @PamPurrs.
We call each other the ‘best friend we have never met’, proving yet again how special this forum can be here that Josh has created and curated, and people like Pam have cultivated into ‘the nicest place on the internet’. People might think it odd to make a virtual friend, but I know for a fact it certainly is not. I can call a few folks here my friends. But as for Pam….you don’t meet Bad Ass Bass Gals every day, and for good reason - they are a rare and wonderful find - I only know of one.
I have to share a story that sums up Pam.
I have been having some GI/esophagus issues and was getting some advice from her on meds for this and that and sorting out what the heck was going on. One day I get a message from her…. She asks me how my issues were going and what the doctor said during my appointment, yadda yadda yadda…and then she throws in a ‘by the way, my cancer is back’. That’s Pam, and that’s why she’s a great friend. She was more interested in my dopey illness than her cancer.
Our friend Pam is as tough as nails. She has charted and led her life in her own way, by her own rules, every step of the way, and will keep doing so now. She is someone who truly knows who she is and is damn happy about it. Truly an original. She won’t be beat easily, for sure.
Pam is pretty low on energy and focus right now, the pain is bad and the meds have her loopy. But she will be checking here and responding when she can, or, simply when she feels like it…cause that’s how she rolls.
So please use this thread to reach out to Pam and Sara.
Humor is always welcome too, she ain’t lost that sense yet!
@PamPurrs - you are our one and only….
Tagging a few folks to insure they see this that I know Pam is close to or have been around a long time (please don’t be offended if I did not tag you, its who i could think of).
@TNKA36 @JerryP @JDDaniel @Lanny @eric.kiser @terb @T_dub @joergkutter @JT @Mike_NL @Barney @howard @Gio @JoshFossgreen
#f@ckcancer