A Letter from Reverend Mel Kawakami

Beloved in Christ,

I was honored to begin the month of September by assisting in serving holy communion to you. Then Pastor DH asked me to preach and assist in a baptism during the CAYA worship last Sunday. I was moved that several of you asked me about my weight loss and wondered whether I was okay. A full, honest response is somewhat complicated.

I am on a diabetes control medication (known as a GLP-1) that has greatly improved my health numbers and helped me bring my weight down to a much healthier level.

During the process, my health care team discovered and confirmed that I have a treatable form of prostate cancer. Since my father was also treated for prostate cancer, we have been watching my PSA numbers for years. So now I have started on hormone therapy and began radiation treatment this past Thursday, which will take place every weekday until at least November 5. I believe this is the right course of treatment for me, and I have high confidence in my treatment team. Now I know the course of treatment, and believe this is the right time for me to share what is happening.

I can already feel your love and concern surrounding me and Dorothy. I have suspended my involvement in the Red Cross and Harvard Disaster Response for now. I will continue my work as the sole Early Response Team Trainer in the New Hope Episcopal area, with the generous help of Deacon Deb and our Church Disaster Response Coordinator, Cassandra Broadus-Garcia. And, of course, I will continue to pluck away at my ukulele.

Due to fatigue being a common side effect, you may see less of me in the near future. But please continue to keep us and our care team in prayer. Let me leave you with the assurance that my father’s treatment team gave to him and that we heard echoed in my care: with treatment, prostate cancer is unlikely to be fatal. My Dad lived to be 94, so you are probably stuck with me for a while.

Thank you so much for the love and concern you have expressed to me. That, in itself, is a great comfort. I am in good spirits and confident in the future, while resting in God’s healing hands.

Reverend Mel Kawakami