A Personal Update

In September of 2020 I received news that millions of others have received, but I don’t think anyone is adequately prepared to hear. I had a doctor in our local ER look me in the eye and let me know that I have cancer.

For many months before this day, I had been dealing with growing pain and symptoms in my abdomen and back. I had come to believe I must have had an ulcer. After leading Outreach through huge systematic changes, COVID, and financial challenges for a year and a half, I figured I had earned the right to an ulcer. I had trouble eating and had lost a lot of weight during this time. Poor Jill could not figure out what to feed me or how much. After a lifetime of Jason eating everything, I couldn’t eat anything.

Which led me to that day in the ER. I went to the walk-in clinic to get help and determine if it was actually an ulcer causing my problems. They sent me to the ER for a series of tests, which included a CT scan. After a couple of hours sitting in an exam room alone a doctor came in and told me about the test results and told me that they had discovered cancer.

After more tests, blood work, a PET scan, x-rays, scans, and more it was determined I have a type of billial carcinoma. This cancer is a kind that doesn’t form one tumor in one area, but is typically spread in different areas. There is not as much information about my specific type of cancer as many others, but thanks to some very talented lab techs, they were able to give a genetic signature to the type of cancer I have and therefore identify some of the best medicine’s to treat it.

So, my treatment regimen is fairly straightforward. There were no options for surgery or radiation. I was started on chemo within a week or so of the initial discovery. I do chemo treatments one day a week in three week rotations. This means that I have chemo on a Thursday in Week #1, I have a second round of chemo on Thursday of Week #2, and then I do not have any treatments on Week #3. After this “week off” the three week rotation begins again.

So, that’s the basic story. My hope is to write and provide more information on how my treatments are going, how I’m feeling, etc. BUT I am not sure how often I will write or how much info I will provide. I do appreciate you taking time to read this.

Many people ask what they can do to help. Please pray. Pray for healing. Pray for peace. Pray for Jill, Alivia, and Annie. There is nothing you can do that will show me more love than praying.

Thanks.