James’s Story

Site created on December 4, 2018

"By logic and reason we die hourly; by imagination we live." ~ William Butler Yeats

Most of you know by now that I have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We will be using this CaringBridge website to keep family and friends updated in one place as I proceed through treatment. I have elected to take a 3-month regimen of chemotherapy with the expectation that the tumors will shrink enough to restore my good quality of life, and potentially even make surgery an option. I will receive a chemo treatment every two weeks. The effects of the disease itself and the chemotherapy in the short term make every day a new challenge. Some days are high-energy, high-appetite days. Others are just the opposite. This will continue for awhile until the chemo regimen is done and the tumors have shrunk. At that point, I hope and expect to be more or less "normal" for some time.

Many people have been reaching out and asking what they can do and how they can help. Thank you! Your thoughts and messages are really appreciated, and I will not hesitate to ask for help if and when I need it. I am surrounded by family and friends and medical practitioners, so I'm well-sorted at the moment. But with regard to the Yeats I quoted above, please join me in living in the imagination, in celebrating each day and living it to the fullest, for me, for your good selves, and for those who love and are loved by you. This disease has no logic, no reason. We will fight it with our richest imaginings together. Remember, today is a perfect day for a perfect day. That is how I now choose to live, and my only ask to you is that you choose to live it this way with me. Thank you, everyone, and yes, cheers!

--James  

Newest Update

March 28, 2022

Journal entry by Jennifer Douglas —

As the sun goes down on 28th March, let's not commemorate his passing, but choose to remember James doing the things he loved and living in the moment. 
Read More of the journal titled "March 28, 2022"
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