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Hi, Welcome to
Adventures With Cancer

Here you will find my thoughts on what I'm going through, how I can help or support you, what I think about a bunch of random stuff, and how we can all enjoy life more!

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I am one of the lucky one who has two, count 'em, two cancers, PNET (Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor) and Kidney Cancer (Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma). Neither 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)

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!

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