In January of 2024, David was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had a stage 3 tumor. It had not metastasized to the lymph nodes or any organs. However is was diagnosed as unresectable (cannot be removed with surgery). Many people asked us "Why did the doctors not initially remove the tumor?" I THINK the answer is that the tumor was wrapped around an artery.
******************** The week on January 21 - 27 **************
David visited his primary care doctor on Monday January 22. He had a doctor's appointments every day that week except for Wednesday the 24th. On Wednesday he ran his last 5k with his dog, Duke. On Friday January 26, the doctor's did an endoscope to evaluate the tumor and do a biopsy. They also put stints in the bile duct and the pancreatic duct. It was a long procedure (maybe 4 hours).
Because, the doctor was touching and manipulating this area of David's body, the pancreas got angry. It developed pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is very painful. It is at a pain level that is similar (or greater) to the pain a woman experiences when she gives birth. On January 27 (a day after his endoscope procedure), he was hospitalized for pancreatitis. David was in varying amounts of pain for the rest of his life.
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On February 1st, David saw his primary care physician again.
The doctor prescribed narcotics for his pain.
The doctor referred David to the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (through Banner Health) for treatment. The chemotherapy treatments took place at McKee Hospital in Loveland, Colorado.
*************** hope for the future *************
The doctors' were hopefully that David might beat the cancer. He had several things in his favor.
1.He was in good health. David was a runner. He ran 5K's three times a week. Often times on Fridays, he would run a 10K instead of a 5K.
2. David was young. He was only 66 years old. Older patients often cannot tolerate a long surgery to remove a pancreatic tumor.
3.The tumor was in the tail of the pancreas. This meant that there would be no Whipple surgery (up to a 9 hour surgery.) It DID MEAN, at surgery time, the doctor's would remove the body and the tail of the pancreas along with the spleen.
4. The tumor had not metasized. (It was a stage 3 tumor.)
The only cure for pancreatic cancer is surgery. Other medical procedures can prolong the life of the patient, but they will not cure the problem (pancreatic cancer).
So we started our journey towards a surgical removal of the tumor. (Spoiler alert - surgery never happened.)
************* David's Christian Faith *************
David was a devout Christian. He read his Bible nearly everyday. He attended church on Sundays. He and I (Kathleen) attended a small "dinner group" twice a month (during the school year) to fellowship and learn about God's Word. (He participated in other Christian activities, but I don't have room to list them here.)
In December of 2023, as David would read his Bible, verses would "jump out" for him. These verses were about going through trials and tribulations. David felt that God told him that "He (The Trinity) would be supporting David as he went through these tough times. God would be right beside him in the hard times. Jehovah God would never leave David's side."
Up until June, we thought the surgeon would be able to do surgery and that David would survive this ordeal.
Even though he thought he would survive this ordeal, David, would state that he was not afraid of dying. He knew if he died he would meet his best friend, Jesus. However, David did fear the dying process, especially the prospect of dealing with pain.
Our faith community was very supportive.
We were on many church's prayer lists (including a Catholic church in Denver; a Methodist church in Windsor; an Assemblies of God church in Montrose; Foundations Church of Loveland & Windsor; our own church, Citipoint NoCo; & probably many churches that we were unaware that they were praying along with us.)
*****************more of this story is yet to come ************
Writing this story has been beneficial for my grieving. I was David's caregiver (and wife). I am not finished writing this story. Check back later to read "The Rest of the Story" (as Paul Harvey would say).
Sincerely,
Kathleen Peterson
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