[quote]But, in his email today, he asked me not to telephone him because speaking is painful. [/quote]
Hi Debo, Is it correct to assume that he is alone there and there are no relatives or friends who are involved with his cancer and treatments?

Hopefully, there is someone who is assisting or at least aware of what is going on. You really benefit having another contact than him as he appears to be the personality type to not wanting to "bother" family with his illness.

If he is the sole contact then press your Dad to get you onto the records as being able to receive and contact his care providers. That way, you can get the accurate and timely status from them directly if your Dad is not directly and accurately communicating his status to you.

Best to you, Don