If you know Bret Batchelor, chances are you have felt trully cared about.  Aside from extreme sports and pushing himself to the limit, Bret has a passion for making people feel special.  As an orthopedic surgeon, Bret has the opportunity to care for not only the people in his personal life but also to many in his professional life.  People that know Bret, know him to be a quality individual with a passion for life. 

On September 27, 2014 Bret was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Since the diagnosis, and the onslaught of testing and evaluations that followed, Bret has endured 6 rounds of chemo therapy like a champ.   As his wife I am not an expert in medicine but as I understand it, Bret’s diagnosis is a stage 4 non-operative pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma (we refer to it as the Steve Jobs Special.)  Sounds ugly, and it is.  Treatments are limited.  Resecting or reducing the size of the tumor appears unlikely at this point.  The monster has apparently been growing for a number years as it has invaded many of Bret’s vital organs and vessels.  Amazing that he has tackled the things he has, given the fact his body was under attack for so long.  After six rounds of chemo and monthly octreotide injections, the tumor has become less active, so that is a plus and time may be on our side.  

If you know Bret, you also know he is not a whiner; he is a winner.  His spirit of commitment and achievement is empowering.  Bret will tackle his diagnosis like he does everything else in his life - full steam!  He has surrounded himself with greatest minds in medicine.  He is lucky to know so many.

Amazing advancements in cancer research have been made, and continue to be made.  In particular,  one area that is showing great promise is immunotherapy.  However, because neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer is so rare, there have been few studies conducted in this area of research.  But there are studies in the making.  And there is hope.  It is our hope that funding can be provided to physicians and institutions who are pursuing immunotherapy for neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer.   They are out there, and we want to be a part of it.  If not for Bret, for others who are fighting the fight. 

Thank you for your support.