The battle with cancer is real; just when you think you’re about to jump over the next hurdle, it pulls you back down into the abyss.

My name is Robert “Buzz” Doyle, many of you simply know me as Buzz. I have been battling my illness for quite some time now; this journey for me goes back a decade or more. Cancer is my latest medical issue. There have been many medical setbacks for me, starting at 20 by being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I took this in stride and made it a challenge to overcome (as many know, diabetes will never go away, but it can be controlled). I faced each new challenge the same way. I know God will not give me a challenge I can’t handle. The interesting part is, until recently, I thought that meant facing those challenges all alone. My father had always had some cyst-like lesions or boils on the back of his neck. He never really spoke of them, and I never asked. I started developing those same sores, but in other places that are not so easy to get to and hurt a lot when there are open wounds in the area. Let’s just say below my waist but above my legs. Later in life, I will have an actual diagnosis of this condition. It’s called Hidradenitis Suppurativa or HS for short. It is another one that might be controlled but will never go away. Fast forward a few years, I was developing urinary tract infections on a regular basis, which in a few cases (for me) led to sepsis and full-blown blood infections. I lost most of my vision in my right eye (luckily, I am left-eye dominant and see everything through the left). I have developed a fairly nasty case of anemia, vitamin D deficiency, as well as AFIB (heart slips in and out of AFIB from time to time but not bad).

‍♂️ I have been in and out of the hospital for the past 10-12 years, with some really nasty bugs that most people have never heard of. I have been in isolation wards with the tents and people wearing the full-body suits, etc. Comical when you stop and think about it. Throughout everything, my attitude was always, and this too shall pass. I can overcome anything thrown in my way. I made a career out of the restaurant industry. There was always a very flexible work schedule, money to be made, and you always were able to eat at least one meal a day. If you came up missing for a few days because you landed in the hospital, it could be explained, and most companies didn’t mind as long as you kept them in the loop. I was able to go from a 14-year-old kid at McDonald’s to the President of a group of 200 plus restaurants. I worked in fast food, full service, fine dining, contract service, hospitals, retirement homes, universities; you name it, I have worked there and loved it all. The illnesses were always there but were never at the forefront, always in the background wreaking havoc. A few years ago, that changed for me. I had a UTI and was retaining urine (I couldn’t pee). I went to the hospital; they put in a catheter and drained my bladder, treated the UTI, and all was good. A week later, they took out the cath, and holy hell broke loose. I ended up with Fournier’s Gangrene. (Spelling of the medical terms may or may not be correct; I am a restaurant manager, for God's sake, let it go ). Essentially, the infection had taken over my pelvic area, and it had to be stripped down, completely cleaned out, and debrided ASAP. If you ever want to see a first-year attending in an ER turn white as a ghost and run to get his boss, show up with Fournier’s Gangrene. Very comical, painful but funny to watch the medical staff scramble. This led to a couple of years of a suprapubic cath being put in (permanent catheter), various surgeries, and a ton of pain. Then I was blessed with the gift of stage 3 colorectal cancer, a resection surgery, 12 rounds of chemo, 2 MRIs, 3 CAT scans, PET scans, and full-body ultrasounds. Cancer is still here (somewhere, we can’t locate the little bugger, but it’s still here). One of those MRIs discovered why my back nearly always hurts, something wrong with L1 and L2, waiting to go see ortho in a few weeks. Cancer side effects, or rather chemo side effects, keep popping up: the constant swelling (somewhere, it likes to move around), snot, just mountains of snot, tired, lethargic, can’t move but you have 100 things on a list to do, you can muster making yourself lunch (maybe). The restaurant business moves fast; you make 100 plus life-changing decisions in a day sometimes. You are responsible for [phone redacted]’s of people’s lives and livelihoods. Cancer robs you of the ability to think clearly; your brain becomes a muddled pile of mush some days, some days you’re as sharp as ever… it’s a cruel mistress.

That brings us to here. Thanks for reading all or some of that. All of this is expensive and takes a toll on savings, etc. My wife Karen and I have always prided ourselves on never asking for help. Over the years, many people have asked, can we help you? The answer has always been no, we got this, we can handle it. There have been many dear friends who haven’t taken that answer and have brought dinner or taken our kids for a special day out with their kids, but always unsolicited (appreciated more than they can know, but never solicited). In 2022, we had a house fire and lost nearly everything we had. Imagine standing on the street at 5 am on your wedding anniversary, with a catheter bag in your hand, in nothing but shorts and a T-shirt, watching your house burn, kids without shoes because we woke them up and said get out now. Everyone was safe; we survived; we were all alive. We had insurance; we were able to move on; we didn’t need major help. Each of those little instances takes its toll, mentally, physically, monetarily; it all adds up.

We are now at a point where I have been placed on LTD, approved for SSID with the federal government. Our savings have been eaten up with medical bills, etc. SSID is great, but it’s not much. Karen is a teacher/librarian at a small district with (thank the Lord) great medical but doesn’t pay a ton. Long story short, we are for the first time asking for help. If you can, wonderful; if you can’t, that’s okay, be well. Thank you for reading my/our story.

With love and admiration in my heart!

Buzz