Update 10/23/2024:

Chemo update:

We are getting cycle #3 today!!! Not only is there no small bowel blockage at this time, all of his numbers have shown good progress. His white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are in a normal range. His Bilirubins (liver) are FINALLY in the normal range, also!

After chemo, we DO expect fluctuation in his WBC and RBC, but that's normal and we can get him a booster and/ or transfusion is needed. I feel like the majority of healthy people only know what cancer and chemo are from the movies; be thankful for that! It's much different in real life. There are SO MANY other tests, injections medications, procedures, etc that are necessary to a lot of cancer warriors in order to continue functioning as "normal".

We try to be as transparent, because most people just don't know. It's a scary place, but we've become used to the side effects and "fixes". Blood transfusions are a normal part of Johnny's journey this time.

Johnny's tumor markers are called "CA19-9". These provide a picture for the Oncologist to get an idea of how many cancer cells are in someone's blood. These numbers are VERY finicky, and can fluctuate due to simple inflammation or infection. Obviously, the higher the number, the more likely it is that someone has cancer in their body.

I'm not sure if I've gone into great detail about Johnny's CA19-9 this time around, but now that we have more information, I'll loop you guys in.

Wr never had the privilege in New York to have all of this information. Quite honestly, his previous Oncologist wouldn't share a lot. Since we've never been through this before, we just assumed this was normal.

It is not.

Anyway...

CA19-9 should be below 37 in a healthy adult. Johnny started his first round of IV chemo in NY with a mid-600 CA19-9 tumor marker, which we thought was INSANELY high! IV treatment finished, and he was at 31! His numbers started rising before he even got to radiation and chemo pills, but we were told fluctuation was normal and not to focus on the numbers (which, looking bad, was horrible advice). After treatment in NY was complete, his numbers continued to rise very slowly.

Turns out, his cancer is more aggressive than we could have imagined. In July/ August, his markers flew up to around 10,000, however, he had a TON on inflammation, blockages, sepsis, etc.

Sadly, he was discharged from his 18-day hospital stay last month with tumor markers at 60,000+. This is one hundred times the amount he started with.

ONE.

HUNDRED.

TIMES!

Insane.

But what's even crazier is that while he was literally fighting to stay alive and his new team tried everything to avoid hopsice, the numbers continued to grow. He couldn't get treatment if they couldn't keep his body functioning "on its own", and I say that in quotes because even though he's had medical intervention, the devices worked as intended and his body is still working. Has they not been able to place his two stents and diagnose his slow-moving stomach, we would not be here.

His tumor markers started around 30k upon hospital admittance, and continued to grow to 60k, and then 102k before he started his chemo treatment.

So here's the good part!

Prior to cycle 1, Johnny's CA19-9 was 102,000. After cycle 1, his numbers increased to 120,000, however, they were increasing at a much slower rate. He took a week break, had cycle 2, and his freaking tumor markers FINALLY DROPPED!!! They went down to 88,000 with just two cycles of chemo!

We don't have his results this week, but since last week was a non-chemo week, we wouldn't be upset if there was an increase. We know this treatment is working!

He is currently getting set up in his room for his third cycle, and we have another procedure scheduled for Friday. I'll update on that at a later date, but he needs another drain/ catheter to alleviate the ascites fluid that is continuing to fill up his abdominal cavity. The goal is to have it temporarily while we wait for the chemo to make more of an impact.

So that's it. That's your "official" update for now! I'm always happy to answer questions here.

I DO know I've been slacking on messages, but we were in the hospital for four days, then another 3 days in the past week and a half.

Please contact to share our story and pray for Johnny. And as always a big #fuckcancer!

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Hi guys!

As many of you know, Johnny's cancer has returned. He is ready to fight another battle, but the cancer is aggressive and also ready for battle.

Johnny hit "remission" after a Whipple, six months of IV chemo, and five weeks of radiation with chemo pills. At his three month scan, we got the news that something wasn't right. Ours hearts sank. Almost immediately following, he started to get bad stomach pains that grew worse literally each day. After several weeks of testing, bloodwork, CT scans, and every medication imaginable, he was directly admitted to the hospital from his doctor's office. He was hopsitalized for six days, where he fought off biliary (liver) sepsis and had a drain placed to redirect his bile. He had gotten so bad, that the nurses we on standby to call me backì at any hour "just in case it was time". I said goodbye to him on two separate occasions during this stay.

During this time, we put our condo in NY up for sale so that we could move to North Carolina. This was our goal; nice weather, close to some of our family (sadly, his mother and sister are still in NY/ CT), and live a laid-back lifestyle to recover. As many of you also know, the financial struggle in NY was too much for us to bear. Between his unemployment due to cancer, and my very limited working hours so I could care for him, we quickly fell behind.

Things had gotten better because I was going back to work, plus, the INCREDIBLE generosity from our friends, family, and complete strangers that rallied behind us. The only positive part of NY being so overpriced, is that the sale of our condo covered our new home in NC.

I haven't worked in four to five weeks. Two weeks prior to our move, he was in the hopsital. The week after was spent caring for him and packing everything we owned. The past two weeks that we've been here have been spent at the ER and ultimately back as an in-patient in the hospital.

I absolutely hate having to post another one of these, because we are still blessed in so many ways, but Johnny will be here at Duke University Hospital through (at least) the weekend. We are desperate for his next procedure to be successful, or we'll be left with very limited options.

Although, I was technically transferred with my same company, I have not officially started working, nor do I know what my position/ title will be. At this point, I'm spending my days traveling back and forth from our home to see him in the hospital. Our goal is to get him home soon, regardless of his prognosis, so we can enjoy our time together in our new home.

As always, absolutely anything would help us. We know how much you've already given during this difficult economy, so even a share of our link would be more than appreciated.

Please continue to pray for Johnny.

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I want to start by saying that posting this didn't come easy. And the fact you're even reading it is giving me hope and comfort.

As some (or most) of you know, my boyfriend of over 12 years, John Olsen, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Pancreatic Cancer in August. A quick back story...

In May, Johnny had severe stomach pains one night which quickly passed. He then had a few other bizarre symptoms, until he finally turned jaundice and we immediately brought him to the ER. He underwent A LOT of testing. He's 46 years old, relatively healthy, and has absolutely no cancer of any kind in his family. We figured it had to be some fluke illness and an easy fix, but despite antibiotics, scans of all sorts, endless blood tests, and mounting frustration, nothing changed.

He had four separate biopsies of his GI system, and in the beginning of August, they finally had one cell in his bile duct that tested positive for cancer. We scheduled a MAJOR procedure to have his gallbladder, bile duct, and portions of his stomach, liver, pancreas, and intestine removed. We were told at this point, it was most likely Stage 1 Bile Duct Cancer and this surgery would prevent it from spreading throughout his GI system.

He went for the surgery on August 8, 2023. Results came back about a week later with the devastating news. He was given a year to live without chemo, and up to four years with chemo. These are typical odds of pancreatic cancer that takes approximately 90% of its victims. However, Johnny is young, strong, and willing to fight. He is also in a much smaller bracket of people that were able to have a successful Whipple procedure and his surgeon and team are hopeful his chemo will give him many more years than the average. After six weeks of recovering from surgery, he scheduled his 12 cycles of chemo.

He receives chemo for 50 straight hours every other week. He goes in on Wednesdays and is there for 8 hours, gets hooked up via a portacath (a separate procedure he underwent in September) and comes home hooked up to chemo for the next day and a half. The effects are taking their toll, but he's already finished 7 cycles, and HOPEFULLY can follow it through to complete all 12. He may still need radiation along with a chemo pill, but we won't know that until another few cycles.

That said, Johnny is unable to work right now. While I am blessed to have a flexible job and huge support team at home and at work, as his chemo cycles progress, I'm home more and more taking care of him. Some weeks I'm working less than 10 hours total.

Cancer is mentally, physically, and financially draining. We are choosing which bills to pay each month and which ones to put aside. This is not how we are. Our savings for our move to be with our family in North Carolina are now drained. Our accounts are drained. My family has helped me, and I cannot keep taking from my parents. Both of our families have given money to help us, but we cannot keep our heads above water.

I only need to cover bills while he finishes chemo/ radiation and can get back to work. I'm also happy to "pay it forward" for anything that is raised above and beyond what we need. In no way am I trying to take advantage of friends and family that are also fighting their own battles.

I know this time of year is difficult. Even $1 adds up, and if you don't have that, a "like" or share would be equally appreciated! Johnny and I have worked our whole lives, saved for a future, and unfortunately, this is now something we need to battle first. And we WILL beat this.

If you've gotten this far, please know I am thankful and wish you happiness and love.

Love,

Stacy and Johnny