Raymond Greenzweig was having trouble getting oxygen and suffering from fatigue before he noticed the swelling in his hands and feet. That's when he decided to contact his physician.

"I was having shortness of breath and really tired for a few weeks before I called my doctor. When I told him about my swollen hands and feet, he told me I'd better go to the emergency room," the lifelong Slatington resident said.The 54-year-old Greenzweig was admitted on the spot for six days due to a skyrocketing white blood cell count. He was officially diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia on Oct. 13."It just sneaked up on me," he said. "At work it slowly would come on and I got tired and I was breathing harder."CMML starts in the blood-forming cells of bone marrow, then invades the blood. The rare form of cancer tends to affect only three in 100,000 older adults in the entire United States.The youngest of three siblings, Greenzweig says his brothers are a five out of eight point match for the bone-marrow transplant he requires."The doctors want to wait and see if they can find a closer match," he said.Once a match is found, he will travel to Hersey Medical Center for the operation and five-week recovery quarantine he will need to avoid infection while his body adjusts to the new marrow.Greenzweig says he had been convinced before the diagnosis that his breathing problems were cigarette-related."I had smoked most of my life," he said. The 30-year smoker said he had to tried to quit twice before it stuck."After my father died of thyroid cancer, me and my brother quit. I was 45 when I finally gave it up," he said.Armed with the correct diagnosis, Greenzweig and his doctors are ironing out a treatment plan."I get chemo once a month for five days at a time. Every other Monday I get blood work at Lehigh Valley to monitor my white cell count."Greenzweig underwent his first blood transfusion at the hospital Friday night when his red cell count was too low."I felt different as soon as the first bag went in. Before that, all I was doing was sitting in the recliner and sleeping. I was really tired, but Saturday I felt fine. I even helped my wife put up the Christmas decorations, which she never lets me do," he said.Greenzweig has been in the physically demanding construction career for more than 20 years. In December 2011, Greenzweig began to work as supervisor for the new up-and-coming Lehigh Valley company Jerdon Construction.His last day on the job was the day he was diagnosed."The short-term only lasts until April and pays only half of what I make," he said.No longer able to clock-in on a daily basis, Greenzweig is responsible for his own health care premiums and $2,000 deductible, along with the day-to-day living expenses, mortgage and car payments for the three-person household.To alleviate some of the Greenzweigs' financial burden, Jerdon Construction has organized fundraisers for the family."Jerdon Construction has always felt that their employees are part of their extended family, and the employees feel the same about the company and their fellow employees. When one of our employees hurts, we all hurt," said Jerdon Construction Business Manager Lorrain Jerdon."Ray's last day of work was Oct. 13th. He originally thought he would be back to work in December. At the beginning of November we informed the company their new health insurance plans options and price increases. By that time, Ray learned that he would have to have a bone-marrow transplant in the spring and would not be returning to work until after that. His short-term disability plan only covers about one-half of his normal wages and will run out before he has his bone-marrow transplant. Ray told us that he didn't know how he was going to pay his mortgage, much less pay for his health insurance now that he wasn't working," Jerdon said.The commercial construction company rallied around Greenzweig and created two events."They held a bake sale over the weekend and there were picnic tables full of baked goods. All the wives baked something," Greenzweig said.The second event will take place Monday in the form of a spaghetti dinner at the Bethany Wesleyan Church at 675 Blue Mountain Drive in Cherryville. The cost for the Italian style dinner is $10 at the door. Children under 12 years old eat for free.According to the business manager, "We are also collecting gift certificates and items that will be sold via basket raffle and silent auctions at the event and will be selling "Hammer" Christmas cookies, T-shirts and hammer keychains. Our JCS employees are rallying together and will be making the homemade spaghetti sauce, meatballs and cookies, and will be doing all the cooking and serving for the event."For more information on how to donate to the Greenzweig family visit

onetoonefunds.crowdsterapp.com/raymondgreenzweig.