I'm gonna to map it, then zap it!
It looks like I'll be gearing up for another bout with cancer. This time I'm dealing with a newly discovered mass on the tail of my pancreas.
While obviously, this sucks, I'll be keeping up my tradition of staying positive and looking forward.
Like the kidney cancer that I had, there were no independent tests that might have revealed this. I wasn't having symptoms which would have raised any flags that something was brewing.
I am fond of saying that if I hadn't come down with Covid, I would not have caught the cancer that originated in my kidney and then attacked my lung, stomach and brain.
This time around, I was lucky the mass was picked it up on one of my quarterly scans before it had spread and done more damage. My doctors feel based on its' size and its' location it is still treatable. Despite having no medical background, I could not agree more!
I am also lucky that I get to benefit from a relatively new procedure that performs the radiation of the pancreas in real time during an MRI.
It turns out the pancreas are very reactionary to changes in the body. As a result, in most cases a new MRI would have to be done after every radiation treatment. This would stretch out the number of sessions a patient would have to undergo, the degree of radiation that could be used in each session, and the amount of damage that would occur to surrounding tissue and organs. Add to that the fact that pancreatic is most often not discovered until a late stage and you can see where its notoriety comes from.
I told my oncologist I was ready to FIGHT BACK not sit back. As a result, I will be going in this month for an initial mapping of my tumor and then dig in for a series of 5 high powered targeted radiation sessions over the course of 8 days.
As you can imagine, I am bummed, but I am also ready to knock this S*** out of C***** one more time!
I'm blessed again, to have my wife Debbie, my girls Jackie, Samantha, & Joelle, my boys David, Ryan & Cristian, and all my friends and family to keep me fighting!
I am also proud to raise money and be an advocate for American Cancer Society and all the work this organization does in the fight against cancer. My ACS friends continue to guide me, educate me, and give me the drive to fight the fight!
Put me in Coach!
Joe Gillette
2 comments:
We are with you all the way, Joe! When you need a pitch hitter let me know, I will step into the game to see you accomplish that home run. 💜
Nothing makes me happier than to read this was picked up in a quarterly scan. You caught it early and small. The treatment you are getting is revolutionary. You are in the best area for pancreatic cancer medical care. Cancer picked the wrong person to pick on when it picked you. NEGU 💜
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