Paul Bacon

Dear Family and Friends,


As most of you know, Paul recently received a terrible diagnosis of cancer. After months of going from one doctor to another to see why Paul was feeling so bad, we demanded a CT scan of his abdomen, which revealed a mass in the pancreas.  Subsequent scans and biopsies revealed a mass on the esophagus and spots on the liver as well.  All have been biopsied, and the MDAnderson Cancer Center pathology team is working hard to determine whether Paul has two primary cancers, or one that has spread.  

Thankfully, Paul's case at MDA was expedited and his first appointment was Tuesday, March 20th, one week after the initial CT scan and biopsy. After a day of tests and another CT scan, we met with Dr. Matthew Katz, a pancreatic surgical oncologist at MDA. Dr. Katz was kind, incredibly smart and highly professional. But unfortunately he delivered bad news. Paul’s cancer, while treatable with chemo, is inoperable and not curable.   
 
BUT, the cancer is treatable. On Friday, March 23rd we met with Paul’s medical pancreatic oncologist, Dr. David Fogelman. He too was excellent and informative. Dr. Fogelman recommended that Paul do chemo as treatment. We hope to have the pathology reports soon so Paul can begin chemo ASAP (the specific chemo treatment is determined by whether he has one or two primary cancers).  Although the cancer is not curable, we remain hopeful that treatment can provide us with more quality time. 
 
In between those visits, Paul met with the Supportive Care team at MDA and they have been working hard ever since to control his pain, nausea and digestive issues.  Unfortunately last Saturday Paul was admitted to MDA hospital to deal with increased pain and nausea issues.  It was not the Easter we had planned with our family at our house. But the good news is that Paul is feeling much better and came home Monday night. We had to postpone his chemo port installation set for April 2 but we are now back on track to move forward with his treatment. Just waiting for updates and rescheduling from MDA.


This Caring Bridge site will be our way to give you updates on Paul. Please feel free to share this site with others who may wish to read it. Paul and I thank you all for your caring support, love and prayers. Paul said to tell you how much your words of hope and encouragement mean to him and how much he appreciates all of your prayers. They truly lift us up.  We are so thankful for each of you in our lives.  Don’t know how we would get through this without our family, friends and faith.


Love, Cathy and Paul