I know many of you have reached out knowing that something was going on in our otherwise normal life. However, things have been upended in our family for two weeks now. Now it’s a bit like an avalanche of news and we are trying to digest all the info coming our way. Thanks for the privacy, love and support. We've been mostly "information gathering" so Matt and I could get some answers before sharing with everyone. We are at least in some position to share what we know now.

Bottom line is Matt has been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. There are two kinds - both kinds are bad but the good news (if there is any) is he has been diagnosed with the best of the worst kind. It is called Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor or P-NET for short.  The good news is that kind of cancer is slow growing, the bad news is it has already metastasized to his sacrum (triangular lower backbone) and liver. 

Matt has been having trouble with his leg for months. At first he thought he must have pulled a muscle at the gym. With no further improvement he went to the Dr. and was told it was a sciatica issue and was treated accordingly. With no improvement and problems getting worse, he was sent for a MRI which showed the tumor growth in the various places mentioned above.

From there Matt had a CT scan and liver biopsy which further confirmed the cancer. We were sent to MUSC to possibly have surgery on the sacrum to remove the tumor. Both specialists felt it was too complicated a surgery with risks outweighing the benefits.

So where does that bring us? We met with Radiology Oncologist, Dr. McNab Friday morning right here in Beaufort at a Duke University affiliate Cancer Center and Matt will start radiation therapy hopefully by end of next week. That will treat the sacrum which has been causing pressure on the nerves affecting his left leg. At the same time we will be working with local oncologist, Dr. Newberry to look at possible chemo treatments for the other tumors. Good news is they say this kind of cancer might only use oral chemo and may (may) have less side effects. 

So lots of new life changes to accept and learn about. Info is unfolding hour by hour and we started this post hope site get all the news out to our friends and family. We will let you know more details as things unfold.

We think (from all we have been told) that Matt can continue back at work. 

So many people who we did share the news with have already asked how they can help, but other than your prayers and love, we really have no needs at this time. Oh I did think of one...please say an extra prayer for our boys!! It's a lot to swallow. 

We know we are in good hands. For that we are profoundly grateful!