Welcome to Randy’s CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated on R’s cancer journey in one place. Individual calls and messages are great but we may loose track and we would hate to miss anyone. Our daughter Jessica has gratuitously agreed to help us keep this site up to date and be a point of contact. You can reach her at jessicaburke712@gmail.com or 509-723-8390.
After months of allergy like symptoms including torturous, non-stop itching, blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes which lead to additional tests and a biopsy of a mass located where the pancreas, bile duct and small intestine come together. The pathology report identified the mass as an extremely rare form of cancer, Ampullary Adenocarcinoma. We always knew R was special but we would have preferred to not add this to his list of special traits.
We are now entering the treatment phase which will include a total of six months of aggressive chemotherapy and life saving surgery called a Whipple. All you Gray’s Anatomy fans will recognize the surgery. 😉 It’s a complicated procedure where the head of the pancreas, the bile duct, parts of the lower intestine and half of the stomach are removed.
The first phase of the treatment plan is 4-6 rounds of chemo to shrink the tumor prior to surgery. At that point, we are hopeful things will look good for surgery. Following surgery will be another 4-6 rounds of chemo.
While we are in for a tough battle, we are confident R will beat this beast and we will be back on the road traveling, exploring new places, eating amazing meals and finding solace in returning to our favorite hangouts in Mexico. R’s new saying is “survive the battle to win the war”. We WILL win this war.
We can’t thank you enough for all the kind words, messages and help with the small yet important things like raking leaves and dropping off warm banana bread. While these things may seem small to you, they lighten our load and brighten our spirits.
