Marissa's battle with Pancreatic Cancer
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This page has been put together through the friends and family of Marissa (Robinson) Hamm.
Marissa is a 38 year old mother of two, a nine year old son and a three year old daughter. Marissa and her husband have been fighting to extend Marissa’s life and everyday comfort.
For those of you who don’t know the story, it all started in 2017. Marissa ended up in the emergency room with pancreatitis. This was very strange for a young, healthy woman with no prior digestive tract issues. The medical team worked through the general scenarios and couldn’t determine what went wrong. After six months of no answers, and four more trips to the ER for pancreatitis the recommendation was made to visit the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA.
Over the course of five months, several trips and numerous investigative procedures is was determined that Marissa’s pancreas had become infected with a very rare form of pancreatic cancer. The tumor had grown to 11.5 cm and reached a point where immediate surgery was required. In early December of 2017 a partial pancreatectomy which removed her spleen, one-third of her stomach, part of her liver and two-thirds of her pancreas. After a very long hospital stay she was able to return home on Christmas Eve to see her children on Christmas morning.
During the next year Marissa completed a 12 weeks of chemo-therapy and six weeks of radiation therapy. After the treatments were over, an exhausted Marissa found out that her CT scan showed no signs of any new cancer. Her life was finally able to continue.
In March of 2019 Marissa began to have stomach pains which led her back to the emergency room. A new CT scan revealed that her cancer had reoccurred in the head of her pancreas. Due to the reoccurrence the surgical team had concerns of performing another operation on an area that had already been operated on.They opted for a new round of chemo-therapy which proved to be extremely hard on Marissa as well as providing no effect on the new tumor. It appeared to be resistant to the therapy. This caused the surgical team at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to proceed with her surgery and complete the full pancreatectomy. This surgery was completed on July 29th. During this surgery they removed the rest of her pancreas, her gallbladder, part of her small intestine and a reconnection of the stomach to the intestine. This has left her with pancreatic diabetes (Type 3c Diabetes).
Her journey to another chance at life is just beginning and will this will not be an easy journey for her or her family.
This battle has been difficult for Marissa and her family. The costs of the medical treatments, travel and long term care have been overwhelming and with her current prognosis and long term treatment plan there will be lots of frequent trips to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and The University of Washington Medical Center Diabetes Clinic due to her unique situation with no remaining pancreas for her both to regulate insulin or digestive enzymes. Marissa and her family have taken on the first part of this journey and we are hoping to help them continue fighting on the second part. Anything can help and will help this family out.
On behalf of her friends, family and anyone who has had their lives touched by her, we Thank you.
From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you.
Marissa is a 38 year old mother of two, a nine year old son and a three year old daughter. Marissa and her husband have been fighting to extend Marissa’s life and everyday comfort.
For those of you who don’t know the story, it all started in 2017. Marissa ended up in the emergency room with pancreatitis. This was very strange for a young, healthy woman with no prior digestive tract issues. The medical team worked through the general scenarios and couldn’t determine what went wrong. After six months of no answers, and four more trips to the ER for pancreatitis the recommendation was made to visit the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA.
Over the course of five months, several trips and numerous investigative procedures is was determined that Marissa’s pancreas had become infected with a very rare form of pancreatic cancer. The tumor had grown to 11.5 cm and reached a point where immediate surgery was required. In early December of 2017 a partial pancreatectomy which removed her spleen, one-third of her stomach, part of her liver and two-thirds of her pancreas. After a very long hospital stay she was able to return home on Christmas Eve to see her children on Christmas morning.
During the next year Marissa completed a 12 weeks of chemo-therapy and six weeks of radiation therapy. After the treatments were over, an exhausted Marissa found out that her CT scan showed no signs of any new cancer. Her life was finally able to continue.
In March of 2019 Marissa began to have stomach pains which led her back to the emergency room. A new CT scan revealed that her cancer had reoccurred in the head of her pancreas. Due to the reoccurrence the surgical team had concerns of performing another operation on an area that had already been operated on.They opted for a new round of chemo-therapy which proved to be extremely hard on Marissa as well as providing no effect on the new tumor. It appeared to be resistant to the therapy. This caused the surgical team at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to proceed with her surgery and complete the full pancreatectomy. This surgery was completed on July 29th. During this surgery they removed the rest of her pancreas, her gallbladder, part of her small intestine and a reconnection of the stomach to the intestine. This has left her with pancreatic diabetes (Type 3c Diabetes).
Her journey to another chance at life is just beginning and will this will not be an easy journey for her or her family.
This battle has been difficult for Marissa and her family. The costs of the medical treatments, travel and long term care have been overwhelming and with her current prognosis and long term treatment plan there will be lots of frequent trips to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and The University of Washington Medical Center Diabetes Clinic due to her unique situation with no remaining pancreas for her both to regulate insulin or digestive enzymes. Marissa and her family have taken on the first part of this journey and we are hoping to help them continue fighting on the second part. Anything can help and will help this family out.
On behalf of her friends, family and anyone who has had their lives touched by her, we Thank you.
From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you.Organizer and beneficiary
Andrea Hamm
Organizer
Missoula, MT
Jason Hamm
Beneficiary