Goodbye

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Fishermangents
Site Admin
Posts: 531
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2015 3:39 pm

Goodbye

Post by Fishermangents » Wed Jun 13, 2018 1:49 pm

Dear reader,

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my father and founder of this website, Fishermangents. He gave me his username and password before he died, as he became too weak to contribute in any way. "Fish" suffered from Myelofibrosis (MF) for which he received a stem cell transplant. The treatment was effective at first, but eventually GVHD caused key organs to shut down. He will be missed tremendously for the loving, smart and humorous person he was.

Being a patient himself is what sparked Fishermangents' interest in Imetelstat. He used to talk passionately about this community and website, which he wanted to be like a safe haven for quality discussion and information. On his behalf I'd like to thank all visitors and members of Imetelstat.eu for contributing to what he considered a great success.

Kind regards,

"Fish" junior

Fishermangents
Site Admin
Posts: 531
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2015 3:39 pm

Re: Goodbye

Post by Fishermangents » Wed Jun 13, 2018 2:10 pm

As to the future of Imetelstat.eu/ImetelChat: still unclear, will keep you posted.

cheng_ho
Posts: 202
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2016 11:27 pm

Re: Goodbye

Post by cheng_ho » Wed Jun 13, 2018 4:50 pm

RIP Fish. Too bad he never had access to imetelstat.

hiprock88
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:46 pm

Re: Goodbye

Post by hiprock88 » Wed Jun 13, 2018 7:23 pm

So sorry to hear about your father. He created an incredible space for the discussion of MF and Imetelstat, and his personality came through in his often passionate writing. He'll be missed by many.

biopearl
Posts: 367
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:12 am

Re: Goodbye

Post by biopearl » Wed Jun 13, 2018 7:48 pm

Fish asked me to keep his medical condition confidential when he asked me to co moderate the Imetelchat board, and so I did. Now that his son "Fish Jr" has announced Fish's passing I think we can all extend to Fish's son our appreciation for the very high quality board his father established and fostered. I suggested to Fish Jr that it would be a tribute to his Dad if the board could continue. When Fish asked me to help out I believe he was too ill to provide much guidance to me and as some of you know I did not possess the ability to allow new members to post or to add new material to the home page so I tried to post links where I could. I do think if enough fellow posters asked via Imetelchat, Fish's son might consider taking over the board or else passing it on. There are many who contribute here who are far more qualified than I to do this but I would certainly take it on if there was consensus. For now if anyone has anything to contribute and are able to post on Imetelchat, please do. Perhaps together we can perpetuate a very effective and high quality source for all things Imetelstat. I doubt Fish's son reads this SA site so I will copy this note there and hope he sees it. I have had some email trouble in trying to contact him. Fish was a great contributor to this board and clearly a highly intelligent thinker. His MF was a tragedy. I know we all wish his family well. bp

biopearl
Posts: 367
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:12 am

Re: Goodbye

Post by biopearl » Wed Jun 13, 2018 9:39 pm

Fish Jr., As you can see there are already many views on this site. You may not be aware that your Dad also posted on Seeking Alpha. I am including a link so you can see the comments made by those who will miss "Fish". I hope you have been able to read my notes to you and that we can move to a private means of communications. bp

https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/3163 ... 1528910863

Ryan
Posts: 348
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2017 1:41 pm

Re: Goodbye

Post by Ryan » Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:24 pm

My sincere condolences.

His passion was clear, and he never let on to his personal battles.

A very sad day, and I wish Imet therapy could have come to fruition for him to see...

Dogonenuts
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue May 10, 2016 6:13 pm

Re: Goodbye

Post by Dogonenuts » Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:38 am

Fish Jr.

I know how you must feel. The loss of a passionate father leaves a big hole. I appreciate the education many of us got from this message board. It is far more civilized than any other, thanks to your Dad’s diligence. I have a cousin recently diagnosed with MF, so it hits home to me.

Hope you or BP can keep the board going.

Godspeed to your Dad, and I hope we are of like faiths that we might meet up again when we have all soared to worlds unknown!

Nuts

jpheis
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2017 2:55 pm

Re: Goodbye

Post by jpheis » Thu Jun 14, 2018 5:25 am

Mark’s passing is heavy to my heart. I am so grateful for his contributions and the diligence he displayed in maintaining an above board forum. His passion for imetelstat was contagious and a main driver behind my outsized emotional and financial involvement in Geron.

Bio-thank you taking up the torch. I hope that Mark’s son will enable you to continue this forum, as I find that we can best honor Mark through continuing his passion. I am willing to commit money now and a portion of future stock appreciation proceeds to a fund in Mark’s name to help those stricken by MF.

huntingonthebluffs
Posts: 246
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2016 12:00 am

Re: Goodbye

Post by huntingonthebluffs » Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:13 pm

This news is so shocking to me it literally jumbles my mind. What a great loss to family, friends, this website, all those dealing with the ravages of the hemo cancers. My sincerest condolences to his family, friends and really to all of us who follow his website / chat site and have come to greatly respect and appreciate his contributions to both education and willingness to stand against the misguided and occasionally evil guided. His library of material about Imetelstat and related has benefited thousands of us as well as his support and perspective of medical science battling these diseases in the lab and various clinical trials, etc. I truly hope the website(s) can be kept up and maintained somehow, but while still a great site, it may never be the same without Fishermangents, hopefully Fishermangents Junior and Biopearl will prove otherwise. While this is a great loss to so many, I believe he is in a better place and with many of our family and friends as well, it is my belief that they continue to contribute from beyond our comprehension. God be with you Fishermangents!

Reading back over many of Fishermangents posts on ImetelChat today, I marvel, now as I did then, at his thoughtfulness, balance, positive thinking and overall grasp of the various aspects of cancer and the battlefield there which. He was always leaning into the wind coming from the challenges presented by cancer in general and blood cancers specifically.

I recall how many times he added balance to my thoughts and one in particular, I now believe was a hint at his own personal struggles as he shared his personal experiences with ET, PV and MF. One of the things he shared was the passing of his father from complications of PV in 2016. I didn’t get it then, as was his intention not to share his personal struggles with us. However, I do wonder how the discussions might have changed knowing his personal situation, but privacy is so important and people can be disrespectful, even ruthless on other boards even if he personally prevented those comments(ers) on ImetelChat. Regardless, one might want to reread this post with his comments on his personal experiences.

Frontline MF vs R/R MF spleen size
by huntingonthebluffs » Thu Mar 01, 2018 12:53 am

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