As most of you know, Todd has been diagnosed with stage 2 pancreatic cancer. It started in October with some back pain that he figured was golf related. The pain became more intense and a CT scan was performed in early November that showed a mass in his pancreas. A biopsy was later performed and the findings were a 3 cm mass (Adenocarcinoma) in the body of the pancreas. Because of the location of the mass and vascular involvement the tumor is not resectable at this time. So, the plan is to start chemotherapy and hope for shrinking the tumor to the point to where it can be removed. In early December Todd met with an oncologist at Providence Hematology and Oncology (Spokane) and put a plan together to start chemotherapy treatment. In mid-December he met with a pancreatic oncologist from Fred Hutchinson (Seattle) and the treatment was confirmed.
Todd’s port was placed on December 21st and he will start his treatment on January 2nd. The chemo protocol is 3 days of chemotherapy every two weeks for up to 6 months. New CT scans will be taken every 6-8 weeks to confirm the efficacy of the treatment and the possibility of resection (removal) of the mass.
Please check back here for frequent updates and feel free to post comments to show your support. You can also reach out to Marie Shine-Bonneau (509-999-3415), Bret Bonham (509-991-7960) or Todd directly, (509-999-6061) he would love to hear from you.
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