Joe's Battle Against Cancer
Donation protected
On July 7, 2016 my in-laws and I joined the countless number of families across the world in the fight against cancer as my father in law, Joe was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer.
As devastating as this news was for us to hear, we have been encouraged by the additional information we have received throughout the string of doctor appointments following his initial diagnosis. Because the tumor is located at the head of his pancreas, his doctor’s still believe Joe is a good candidate for surgery to have the tumor removed. This procedure, called a Whipple Operation, will remove the head of his pancreas (and up to 20% of the remaining body of his pancreas), along with part of his small intestine, a small section of his stomach, and a complete removal of his gall bladder.
There are many steps that need to be taken before this surgery can be conducted. First, Joe’s bilirubin levels (the product which causes the yellow coloring of people with Jaundice) will need to come down to a measured level of 3 before he is able to start chemo. Because the tumor on Joe’s pancreas has blocked his bile duct, the bilirubin in his system was unable to flush correctly giving him Jaundice, which is what first alerted his doctors to check for this cancer. On July 11th a stint was placed inside of Joe’s bile duct to allow proper function. When his bilirubin levels were first measured they came in at a count of 13.6, and had already been reduced to 8.2 when his count was re-measured on July 15th.
The next step is for Joe to start chemo, which will begin on July 26th. After two-six rounds of chemo (depending on how his body responds to the treatment) he will begin radiation. The goal of this step is to destroy any cancer cells that have affected his lymph nodes, while also shrinking the main cancer tumor which will increase his odds for a successful surgery. In addition, he will be traveling to both MD Anderson in Houston, and the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa where he will be evaluated to see if he qualifies for any clinical trials.
Because of the phenomenal advancements in modern medicine, and new discoveries being made about cancer every day, we have such strong hope that Joe will beat this! We also can't forget how much patient attitude has to do with recovery. If positive thinking and good spirit was the only cure for cancer, Joe would have it beat before anyone else. Anyone who knows Joe would attest to his supportive and selfless character. He has always seen other people’s problems as being greater than his own, and now it is our turn to return the favor, to try to ease this financial anxiety.
As everyone who has been affected by cancer already knows, cancer does not discriminate between age nor race when choosing it’s victims, and it definitely does not wait until the time is “right” to strike. Cancer does not care if you are still in the beginning stages of life and haven’t even celebrated your fifth birthday; it does not care if you haven’t graduated from college, or traveled the world; and it does not care if you haven’t been able to hold your future grandchildren in your arms. Cancer most certainly does not wait until you have your finances in order before it hits you with its heavy financial burden. While Joe’s family will be losing almost half of their main source of support once he is placed on FMLA, his wife Lauren is also currently on disability dealing with complications from Crohn’s disease. Finances are the last thing we want Joe to be worrying about during this time, and every dollar truly does help. Joe needs to be putting his energy and focus into getting healthy and kicking cancer’s ass!
This fund will go toward any and all expenses related to his treatment and recovery, including medical expenses, travel to and from doctors, and prescriptions.
Thank you all so much for your support, you are truly making a difference in Joe's life!
As devastating as this news was for us to hear, we have been encouraged by the additional information we have received throughout the string of doctor appointments following his initial diagnosis. Because the tumor is located at the head of his pancreas, his doctor’s still believe Joe is a good candidate for surgery to have the tumor removed. This procedure, called a Whipple Operation, will remove the head of his pancreas (and up to 20% of the remaining body of his pancreas), along with part of his small intestine, a small section of his stomach, and a complete removal of his gall bladder.
There are many steps that need to be taken before this surgery can be conducted. First, Joe’s bilirubin levels (the product which causes the yellow coloring of people with Jaundice) will need to come down to a measured level of 3 before he is able to start chemo. Because the tumor on Joe’s pancreas has blocked his bile duct, the bilirubin in his system was unable to flush correctly giving him Jaundice, which is what first alerted his doctors to check for this cancer. On July 11th a stint was placed inside of Joe’s bile duct to allow proper function. When his bilirubin levels were first measured they came in at a count of 13.6, and had already been reduced to 8.2 when his count was re-measured on July 15th.
The next step is for Joe to start chemo, which will begin on July 26th. After two-six rounds of chemo (depending on how his body responds to the treatment) he will begin radiation. The goal of this step is to destroy any cancer cells that have affected his lymph nodes, while also shrinking the main cancer tumor which will increase his odds for a successful surgery. In addition, he will be traveling to both MD Anderson in Houston, and the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa where he will be evaluated to see if he qualifies for any clinical trials.
Because of the phenomenal advancements in modern medicine, and new discoveries being made about cancer every day, we have such strong hope that Joe will beat this! We also can't forget how much patient attitude has to do with recovery. If positive thinking and good spirit was the only cure for cancer, Joe would have it beat before anyone else. Anyone who knows Joe would attest to his supportive and selfless character. He has always seen other people’s problems as being greater than his own, and now it is our turn to return the favor, to try to ease this financial anxiety.
As everyone who has been affected by cancer already knows, cancer does not discriminate between age nor race when choosing it’s victims, and it definitely does not wait until the time is “right” to strike. Cancer does not care if you are still in the beginning stages of life and haven’t even celebrated your fifth birthday; it does not care if you haven’t graduated from college, or traveled the world; and it does not care if you haven’t been able to hold your future grandchildren in your arms. Cancer most certainly does not wait until you have your finances in order before it hits you with its heavy financial burden. While Joe’s family will be losing almost half of their main source of support once he is placed on FMLA, his wife Lauren is also currently on disability dealing with complications from Crohn’s disease. Finances are the last thing we want Joe to be worrying about during this time, and every dollar truly does help. Joe needs to be putting his energy and focus into getting healthy and kicking cancer’s ass!
This fund will go toward any and all expenses related to his treatment and recovery, including medical expenses, travel to and from doctors, and prescriptions.
Thank you all so much for your support, you are truly making a difference in Joe's life!
Organizer and beneficiary
Kelsi DeCarlo
Organizer
Pflugerville, TX
Lauren DeCarlo
Beneficiary