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Hi, Welcome to
Adventures With Cancer

I'm a lucky guy. Yes, I have cancer. But I've learned to appreciate everything around me so much more. I have a friend who once told me that "cancer is a gift wrapped in barbed wire" and it is true. I have learned so much, and am a better and happier person now then I was before.​

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I am one of the lucky ones who has two, count 'em, two cancers, advanced PNET (Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor) and Kidney Cancer (Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma). I am very lucky in that my symptoms are very light.

 

Neither cancer will ever stop me from living life's adventures!​

 

My Blog Posts

My Timeline

  • July 1, 2022 - Diagnosis dates for PNET and Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma (diagnosed at Providence St Vincent In Portland OR while admitted for Hepatic Encelapathy and Internal Bleeding)

  • July 26, 2022 - First appointment with Dr. Guillaume Pegna, my NET specialist and Medical Oncologist at OHSU

  • August 4, 2022 - First day of the first round of chemo - CapTem protocol

  • November 7, 2022 - First appointment with Dr. Rod Pommier, my NETS surgeon - one of the godfathers of NETS surgery

  • February 27, 2023 - Taken off of CapTem protocol after 7 rounds due to low platelet counts

  • March 3, 2023 - CT Scans showed small tumor growth but raised concerns about a nodule in my left lung (had been there for a while but on this scan the radiologist raised an alarm)

  • March 8, 2023 - First Octreotide shot in my butt - used to stabilize NET tumors and stop the growth

  • March 10, 2023 - Met Dr. Michael Kilbourne, Thoracic Surgeon - Ordered a PET Scan and Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) for March 17

  • March 20, 2023 - PET Scan showed the same for the lung so the decision made to remove the nodule via a VATS Wedge Resection procedure (and confirm a diagnosis during surgery)

  • April 19, 2023 - VATS Surgery on the left lung - Nodule was benign (yay!)

  • June 9, 2023 - Liver surgery. Removal of the left lobe of my liver and 17 tumors from the right lobe and my gall bladder

  • August 4, 2023 - Restart shots of Octreotide to help stabilize my tumors (trying to get Lanreotide but having to work through insurance to do it)

  • Current - Scans every 3-4 months including an MRI on my pelvis and abdomen and a CT of my chest. Right now treatment is Lanreotide injection every 28 days

Favorite Quotes

  1. Great things never came from comfort zones - Anonymous

  2. You haven't come this far to come this far - Anonymous

  3. Cancer is a gift wrapped in barbed wire - John Saultz

  4. I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been - Wayne Gretzky

  5. 80% of life is showing up - Woody Allen (?)

  6. If I'd have listened to what other people wanted I would've invented a faster horse (Maybe Henry Ford - not my favorite human but I do like the quote)

  7. Every storm runs out of rain - Maya Angelou

  8. God I'm a dancer, and a dancer dances - A Chorus Line (Greatest musical ever? I think so!)

  9. If you know the answer, ask bigger questions - No idea who said it but saw it at OHSU and liked it a lot!

  10. This experience has taught me that life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, but about learning to dance in the rain - NEC Bill

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