Scott Portocarrero

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using this site to keep Scott's family and friends updated on his cancer and treatment journey. 

Scott and his family were vacationing in the Santa Cruz mountains during Labor Day weekend when he fell ill. The first symptoms were an incessant itching throughout his body.  He describes it as itch with no relief because it was "inside" his body (as opposed to a normal itch on your skin that you can relieve by scratching). The next symptom was stomach pains so fierce that it sent him to the ER. At first, the doctors sent him home with a "summer flu" diagnosis. But the pain persisted as did other symptoms such as fevers, drenching night sweats, and weigh loss (15 pounds) and he found himself back in the ER,  demanding more tests. Subsequently,  a CT Scan and later a biopsy of his stomach showed inflamed lymph nodes. It was five weeks before doctors concluded that his diagnosis was indeed Hodgkins Lymphoma. Diagnosed first as Stage II, it was later confirmed that his cancer is at  Stage IVb (due to inflamed lymph nodes in his pelvic area and chest as well as the presence of cancer cells in his bone marrow).


Scott underwent his first chemo treatment on October 25th at Kaiser San Rafael. He will have subsequent treatments every two weeks for the next six months. During each of these treatments, Drs. will check his red and white blood cell counts and conduct a PET scan to manage how the chemo is shrinking the cancer. If the chemo doesn't get rid of the cancer after this first cycle, Drs. will consider radiation therapy and a possible bone marrow transfusion.

Currently, the Portocarrero family is staying close to home with minimal visitors  to support Scott's recovery . The children (Vincent - 13 and Sophia - 9) seem to be managing well with expected bouts here and there of fear and anxiety.  Sandra says they are trying to focus on the moment, taking the journey one day at a time, and being grateful for the love and support of family and friends. 

Please visit this site often for news and updates. We appreciate your prayers,  support, and words of encouragement.  Thank you.