Garry Barker

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting. 

Garry was diagnosed with rectal cancer in July.  We are still waiting treatment.  It is stage 3 and a very large tumor that has not spread any where else in his body but has spread to the surrounding lymph glands/blood vessels/nerves. 

On Friday September 22/17 we met with a Colorectal Surgeon Dr. Fenech at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre in Toronto.   We expect to begin radiation/chemo within the week.  Treatment will last for 42 days (radiation Mon. to Fri. for 28 days) and chemo pills every day.  Sometime in the two months following treatment which should shrink the tumor we will travel back to Toronto for 4-5 days for tests.  After Dr Fenech reviews the results she will plan surgery.  We expect surgery will be mid January, but naturally that could change. 

Please keep Garry (and me) in your thoughts and prayers.  We know that he is most likely going to get very sick before he gets better.  Right now he is continuing to work as a school crossing job, something he really enjoys.  I believe that will end a few weeks into treatment.  Garry does have some pain and is tired a lot of the time.

I will use this site to update whenever we have new information.