Dennis John MacFarlane

Hello Everyone, It is with immense sadness that I share the passing of my incredible brother, Dennis John. At 12:36AM on 4/26/2023, Dennis peacefully passed away in his home in the arms of his family and surrounded by his cherished dogs. As all of you know, Dennis fought so incredibly hard against this vicious disease. He never, ever complained through this entire process and had the greatest attitude imaginable. As the bravest person many of us will ever meet, Dennis battled and battled hard because he wanted to live for his parents, sister, fiancé, niece, nephew, and all of his family and friends. He was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme in June 2022 and went through 6 weeks of daily chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Dennis was also one of the first patients accepted into a clinical trial with an Optune device that he wore for over 18 hours a day to help deliver electromagnetic waves to the cancer cells to disrupt their replication process. Dennis started to notice some pain in his neck and back in November 2022. His cancer had metastasized as Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis, where Dennis developed numerous tumors on his brain and full spinal cord. Yet again, Dennis faced the odds with incredible tenacity and underwent 5 days of intense full spinal radiation followed by brain surgery to place an Ommaya Reservoir to deliver chemotherapy directly to his spinal cord. He also started immunotherapy treatment to help cut off the blood supply to the tumors. With every test, surgery, MRI, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy dose, Dennis kept telling everyone that he wanted to live, and he would do anything the doctors told him to do. At this point, Dennis’s prognosis was 4-6 weeks. Dennis defied the odds and survived 5 more months until his passing this morning. Dennis always said that he didn’t even want a full lifetime, just a few more years so he could be there for his mom and dad, get married, start a family with his beautiful fiancé and love of his life, Emily, and cherish his time as Uncle Dennis. His resilience and strength allowed him to have 10 months from his diagnosis to spend time with his family and make memories both Dennis and his loved ones will cherish forever. This relentless cancer ripped away everything from Dennis, yet he still faced it head on with a bravery that was admired by all. He is finally at peace with God and can walk, see, and use his hands again. Dennis can play golf and throw a baseball now without any more pain or suffering. Dennis can make perfect impersonations now and is filling heaven with laughter and smiles, just like he filled every room on Earth. Dennis would want me to thank all of those that generously contributed to his fight and helped him battle so hard against the worst cancer out there. Whether financial, emotional, or spiritual, Dennis cherished all the efforts of everyone that rallied behind him as it allowed him to fight to his last breath. Our family would like to thank everyone for all the love and support given to Dennis and all of us. With the biggest heart imaginable, Dennis would want everyone to keep fighting against Glioblastoma as he wouldn’t want anyone else to hurt the way he did. He would want people to learn from his story and work together to find a cure so no other person or family would have to endure this devastation. Therefore, in lieu of flowers, our family would like any contributions to be sent in Dennis’s name to the Glioblastoma Research Foundation and University of Miami Sylvester Cancer Center to keep on fighting for a cure. Our family is asking for some time to attempt to grieve this unbearable loss in privacy. Our cherished Dennis John, we all miss you more than we could ever describe. Even though your biggest fear was hurting all of us with your departure, your family and friends know you are at peace and no longer suffering. Please know that although we are shattered by this, we will figure out a way to be somewhat okay and you no longer have to worry. We will keep fighting for you so you can rest easy now. Beloved son, brother, uncle and fiancé, may you rest in peace. My DJ, When I was born, you were already here so I cannot imagine a world without you in it. I entered the world already having my best friend, so nothing makes sense without you here. The utter devastation in my heart and soul is something I cannot even put into words. You had the world’s biggest heart full of endless generosity, empathy, and pure kindness. Your smile filled every room you walked into, and your laughter was truly contagious. Watching you become Uncle Dennis has been something I will cherish for the rest of my days. Thank you for loving and honoring my kids as if they were your own. You have a very important job now as their guardian angel so please watch over them and take care of them as you always did for me. We were supposed to have a lifetime of memories ahead and I will never understand why this happened to you. Thank you for the honor of standing by your side and helping you fight every step of the way. I am sorry I couldn’t save you. I will miss you every minute of every day for the rest of my life until I see you again. As we always used to sing in the car together, my life is going to suck without you. My brother and my best friend, I will love you always and forever. Love, Your Taylee

Dennis John MacFarlane

February 3, 1994 - April 26, 2023