Now for Step 2
Donation protected
Hello everyone!
If you’ve been following along, you know that I had my surgery on June 7 and that I’ve been wandering and napping around Tampa as I recover before driving back to Gulf Breeze.
I’m some ways, the easy part is over.
I still have 2 more weeks here in Tampa, Glenn flies home today and some of my friends are tag teaming and watching over me until I can get on the road.
That means two more weeks of hotel living, meals out and other associated expenses.
We have learned that my Creon prescription will be, at a 5 percent co-pay until the end of the year, just under $400 every quarter (let that sink in a minute and contemplate what happens when the year resets). Plus insulin. Plus regular meds....
We can really use your continued help getting to a level playing field—pre-op medical bills, travel expenses, oh and did I mention travel expenses are all stacking up.
With your help getting to my GoFundMe goal it looks like we would be able to start at square 1 instead of at negative square 5,000.
I can only promise to pay your kindnesses forward in repayment and in books...
As a reminder, here is my backstory:
Some of my friends may recall that about 20 years ago I watched first my Dad, then my oldest brother, die from pancreatic cancer. My Dad's doctor told us at the time that my grandfather's stomach cancer years before was probably, likely metastasized from pancreatic cancer. Three direct familial links like that increases my pancreatic cancer chances to 122 out of 100,000. Not especially comforting in my honest opinion.
Fast forward to the present:
Firstly, I don't have cancer!
B. I do (did) have some cysts and tubule anomalies that could be precursors.
No. 3, I am a prime candidate for a Total Pancreatectomy as a cancer preventative. And the surgery was performed June 7 at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
Here's a short version of the inside scoop as it is: The surgery consisted of a laparoscopic procedure that removed the pancreas, spleen and gall bladder, as well as associated bits of the stomach and small intestine, that is, to remove the most likely sites of future cancer.
It also means Type 1 diabetes, lifetime enzyme replacement and discovering a new relationship with food.
My Mom, who was diabetic and a foodie like me, used to say it was the difference between Living to Eat and Eating to Live.
Scary stuff.
However, there is one thing scarier than this surgery to me: The pain and suffering of this terrible, horrible disease and the seriously shortened lifespan it brings, not to mention the unpleasantness I'd be bringing to my friends and family.
Words can't...listen, sitting with Dad and Dave a year apart, holding their hands, watching them.... ... ... anyway, I vowed 20 years ago that that wouldn't be me. Period. Ever. Nicht! Nie....
To that end I have pestered every doctor I've ever had since then with my family history (the optometrist always seems a little confused....) and with their help have kept watch on these particular innards.
The combination of a nagging suspicion, a follow-up on a mostly unrelated health matter in the same vicinity and supportive medical professionals who honestly listened to me, brought me to getting some scans I probably wouldn't have had and that brings me to this place.
Honestly folks, the precursors I have don't always become cancerous. Not always, but often...and there is that pesky family history to consider.
Enter Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and why we've gathered here....And why I could use your help.
To begin with, Tampa is a long way from Gulf Breeze and we are going to be driving and flying down, driving back, possibly a number of times between now and when I get out of the hospital. There will be pre-op appointments and tests. There will be lodging to consider, as well as other travel expenses and there will be Glenn missing work. And then there are the post op appointments, and the ever-present concerns of complications (No whammies! No whammies!). Plus the usual expenses.
We are seeking financial assistance from all sorts of places, however most of those organizations are geared around a cancer diagnosis and I don't technically qualify. Therefore, as you might imagine I'm a little worried about how we are going to afford all of this.
Ballpark guesstimates for the hospital and Doctor fees (not including preliminary tests and Doctor visits here and in Tampa, travel, lodging, meals, unforeseen situations): $105,000+-
To that end, I'm asking for your help to cover what insurance doesn't or won't as well as all of those extra expenses.
In return you will have our enduring gratitude AND I'm pretty sure I could get you a pristine copy of one or both of my books, no additional charge for my signature!
In the event we raise more money than we need (!) I'll donate any excess to pancreatic cancer research, for sure a place to advance the science. I'm also allowing my tissue samples to be used for research now and frozen for the future. They've assured me there will NOT be any clones, but you never know....
I'm serious about the books. A $25 donation gets you Twelve Seasons, $35 gets you Home Cookin' Illustrated, $55 gets you both. I'll sign and snail mail them as I'm able. AND that's not all!....kidding, this isn't a crazy late-night infomercial. .... I do want to add that if you already have my book, they make great gifts, buy in bulk! They keep in a cool dark closet for months, years even....
Speaking of cool dark places, in an unused corner in the back of my brain I am thinking about a new foodie book, inspired by this adventure, so everybody who helps us will get at least a mention in there and anybody helping with $100 or more gets a copy of the new book when it comes out. I am also pledging a portion of actual profits from the future sales of my third book to go to pancreatic cancer research.
That should tell you how high my confidence level is in my medical team and the outcome of my surgery.
Please know that despite my occasional attempts at humor, I haven't made this decision rashly or without serious thought. Please also know that asking for help is extremely hard and I am embarrassed to be straining our friendship in this way.
In the end, here's how I see it: Surgery with 6-9 months (+) recovery and a future (oncologist says ideally 30-40 more years so brace yourselves!) is very preferable to waiting for a mass to develop and having 6-9 months. Period.
I thank you in advance for your generosity and look forward to lots more food and wine talk with all y'all!
Love ya!
Doug
Oh hey, don't be shy about sharing my link on the InterWeb...
If you’ve been following along, you know that I had my surgery on June 7 and that I’ve been wandering and napping around Tampa as I recover before driving back to Gulf Breeze.
I’m some ways, the easy part is over.
I still have 2 more weeks here in Tampa, Glenn flies home today and some of my friends are tag teaming and watching over me until I can get on the road.
That means two more weeks of hotel living, meals out and other associated expenses.
We have learned that my Creon prescription will be, at a 5 percent co-pay until the end of the year, just under $400 every quarter (let that sink in a minute and contemplate what happens when the year resets). Plus insulin. Plus regular meds....
We can really use your continued help getting to a level playing field—pre-op medical bills, travel expenses, oh and did I mention travel expenses are all stacking up.
With your help getting to my GoFundMe goal it looks like we would be able to start at square 1 instead of at negative square 5,000.
I can only promise to pay your kindnesses forward in repayment and in books...
As a reminder, here is my backstory:
Some of my friends may recall that about 20 years ago I watched first my Dad, then my oldest brother, die from pancreatic cancer. My Dad's doctor told us at the time that my grandfather's stomach cancer years before was probably, likely metastasized from pancreatic cancer. Three direct familial links like that increases my pancreatic cancer chances to 122 out of 100,000. Not especially comforting in my honest opinion.
Fast forward to the present:
Firstly, I don't have cancer!
B. I do (did) have some cysts and tubule anomalies that could be precursors.
No. 3, I am a prime candidate for a Total Pancreatectomy as a cancer preventative. And the surgery was performed June 7 at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
Here's a short version of the inside scoop as it is: The surgery consisted of a laparoscopic procedure that removed the pancreas, spleen and gall bladder, as well as associated bits of the stomach and small intestine, that is, to remove the most likely sites of future cancer.
It also means Type 1 diabetes, lifetime enzyme replacement and discovering a new relationship with food.
My Mom, who was diabetic and a foodie like me, used to say it was the difference between Living to Eat and Eating to Live.
Scary stuff.
However, there is one thing scarier than this surgery to me: The pain and suffering of this terrible, horrible disease and the seriously shortened lifespan it brings, not to mention the unpleasantness I'd be bringing to my friends and family.
Words can't...listen, sitting with Dad and Dave a year apart, holding their hands, watching them.... ... ... anyway, I vowed 20 years ago that that wouldn't be me. Period. Ever. Nicht! Nie....
To that end I have pestered every doctor I've ever had since then with my family history (the optometrist always seems a little confused....) and with their help have kept watch on these particular innards.
The combination of a nagging suspicion, a follow-up on a mostly unrelated health matter in the same vicinity and supportive medical professionals who honestly listened to me, brought me to getting some scans I probably wouldn't have had and that brings me to this place.
Honestly folks, the precursors I have don't always become cancerous. Not always, but often...and there is that pesky family history to consider.
Enter Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and why we've gathered here....And why I could use your help.
To begin with, Tampa is a long way from Gulf Breeze and we are going to be driving and flying down, driving back, possibly a number of times between now and when I get out of the hospital. There will be pre-op appointments and tests. There will be lodging to consider, as well as other travel expenses and there will be Glenn missing work. And then there are the post op appointments, and the ever-present concerns of complications (No whammies! No whammies!). Plus the usual expenses.
We are seeking financial assistance from all sorts of places, however most of those organizations are geared around a cancer diagnosis and I don't technically qualify. Therefore, as you might imagine I'm a little worried about how we are going to afford all of this.
Ballpark guesstimates for the hospital and Doctor fees (not including preliminary tests and Doctor visits here and in Tampa, travel, lodging, meals, unforeseen situations): $105,000+-
To that end, I'm asking for your help to cover what insurance doesn't or won't as well as all of those extra expenses.
In return you will have our enduring gratitude AND I'm pretty sure I could get you a pristine copy of one or both of my books, no additional charge for my signature!
In the event we raise more money than we need (!) I'll donate any excess to pancreatic cancer research, for sure a place to advance the science. I'm also allowing my tissue samples to be used for research now and frozen for the future. They've assured me there will NOT be any clones, but you never know....
I'm serious about the books. A $25 donation gets you Twelve Seasons, $35 gets you Home Cookin' Illustrated, $55 gets you both. I'll sign and snail mail them as I'm able. AND that's not all!....kidding, this isn't a crazy late-night infomercial. .... I do want to add that if you already have my book, they make great gifts, buy in bulk! They keep in a cool dark closet for months, years even....
Speaking of cool dark places, in an unused corner in the back of my brain I am thinking about a new foodie book, inspired by this adventure, so everybody who helps us will get at least a mention in there and anybody helping with $100 or more gets a copy of the new book when it comes out. I am also pledging a portion of actual profits from the future sales of my third book to go to pancreatic cancer research.
That should tell you how high my confidence level is in my medical team and the outcome of my surgery.
Please know that despite my occasional attempts at humor, I haven't made this decision rashly or without serious thought. Please also know that asking for help is extremely hard and I am embarrassed to be straining our friendship in this way.
In the end, here's how I see it: Surgery with 6-9 months (+) recovery and a future (oncologist says ideally 30-40 more years so brace yourselves!) is very preferable to waiting for a mass to develop and having 6-9 months. Period.
I thank you in advance for your generosity and look forward to lots more food and wine talk with all y'all!
Love ya!
Doug
Oh hey, don't be shy about sharing my link on the InterWeb...
Organiser
Doug Janousek
Organiser
Gulf Breeze, FL
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