Dear Family and Friends,

My name is Logan Schuman, and over the last five years I have had the enormous pleasure of having spent every day with the most kind, caring, and thoughtful person by my side – Trista Quinn, my beautiful girlfriend.

On December 17, 2022, I drove Trista to the Emergency Room due to severe abdominal pain. A CT scan of her abdomen revealed a mass on her pancreas. She was admitted to the hospital and went through additional tests: blood panels, an MRI, an endoscopy and biopsy.

Devastatingly, Trista was diagnosed with Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. This was such a shock, especially given she is only in her 40’s. On January 13, she had a PET scan, indicating the pancreatic mass is wrapped around major blood vessels, and has also spread to lymph nodes in her left axilla (armpit). She is scheduled to have her PORT placed on February 6 and start chemo on February 7. We have met with a surgeon, and pray the tumor shrinks enough after several rounds of chemo, to allow for surgery to remove it.

When Trista was 19 years old, her mother was diagnosed with a metastatic form of cancer. Trista watched her struggle to fight off the disease, undergoing several rounds of chemo, but sadly, her mother passed away at the age of 42. This has left a deep emotional wound that is still there to this day, and now she finds herself having to endure the same disease and persist through treatment despite unimaginable fear.

After her mother’s passing, Trista would go on to continue being a great mother to beautiful Ashley, her only adult daughter. She would spend the next 20+ years working in the veterinary field as a veterinary receptionist. Fifteen of those years were spent working at Gilbert Veterinary Hospital, where she helped countless people and their four-legged furry friends. Those who encountered her professionally in her work can attest to her kindness to grief-stricken families of pets, as well as those pet parents who call with questions of concern that she could calmly assess. Many friendships with clients of the hospital were formed, and they frequently requested Trista to look after their furry friends when they were out of town. It was at this veterinary hospital that Trista saw a tiny rescue puppy. She immediately fell in love, decided to take the puppy home for a two-week trial, and over a decade later she still has the adorable little Tinker by her side.

While Trista was working at Gilbert Veterinary Hospital, she began having unexplained health problems in 2019. She was experiencing debilitating nausea / vomiting, unexplained weight loss, and was visibly frail. Her health deteriorated dramatically, and after a few blood tests, she was found to have the antibodies against Borrelia Burgdorferi, indicating she had Lyme disease, as well as iron deficiency anemia. What followed was a regular routine of iron supplements, healthy eating, and exercise. Her health did improve a bit, but before long she began experiencing additional symptoms. Those were easily explained as Lyme disease, something she would deal with for the rest of her life. In the fall of 2020, her health again was deteriorating, and thus began the journey that led her to her cancer diagnosis in 2022.

She has been and will continue to be too ill to work for the foreseeable future. It was at this point that we realized we needed help. To help alleviate the financial strain and stress of monthly bills and everyday living expenses would be such an incredible blessing. Our hope is that Trista can focus on her treatment, staying the course as a courageous fighter, and feel the love and support of those around her. For those who know Trista, or anyone who has had an interaction with her that impacted your life in a positive way and made you smile, or if you have a story to share, please do! This is the best medicine to keep her spirits up! For all the love, prayers, positive words, or any donation you can give, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We are #TEAMTRISTA! Thank you, and God bless.

#pancreaticcancer

#cancerfighter

#purpleforpancreaticcancer

#teamtrista