Kris Van Gelder cancer treatment

Trusting the Lord...in all things! 

Last month Kris’ CT scan revealed a 1” circular mass between his spleen and pancreas. This mass has grown quickly as it was not on his scan last Nov. The doctor told him that his cancer has returned. A PET scan later confirmed this diagnosis. The mass needs to be removed ASAP.

Kris’ surgery to remove the cancerous mass (including removing his spleen and part of his pancreas) is scheduled for Thursday, April 8th in Billings. He will be in the hospital for at least 5 days and then will have 12 weeks recovery. At that time he will be given a port. Kris will be going back on 2 big immunotherapy drugs for the next few years.They are not sure yet when immunotherapy starts.

As many of you know Kris was diagnosed with melanoma in 2013. He had surgery to remove the cancer from his chest which came back and then also 2 more surgeries to remove and check lymph nodes in his chest, arm and neck. He was given a stage 4 diagnosis. Kris had Immunotherapy treatment until 2017. At that point he had to stop treatment since his body started attacking his liver. Since then he has continued having check ups every few months. In January of 2020 a spot was found on one of Kris’ lungs. It was watched closely for a few months. In April 2020  it was decided that surgery to remove the tumor wasn’t  possible so Kris underwent 3 high does radiation treatments. A follow up in July 2020 showed no new spots on his lungs.

Kris married the love of his life in 2019 and gained 2 awesome kids. 

Kris will be out of work for around 3 months and they will have many trips to Billings. The money raised will help with medical expenses, travel cost and lost wages.

Please pray for Kris and Lisa as this is all happening so fast. The doctors are very positive and we know God is in control even while life feels so out of control.

Thank you eveyone for your prayers!! ❤️❤️