Support Brian's Bucket List Adventures!

Short Version: Brian was diagnosed with stage 3C colon cancer in March 2024. After surgery & 12 rounds of chemo we found out that it spread & he now has stage 4 colon cancer. We are trying to live life to the fullest and knock out some bucket list trips!!!

Full/Long Version: December 2023 is when it all began. Brian was having terrible stomach pain & body aches that we thought were just winter viruses but these symptoms sent him to the ER at the beginning of January when they became unbearable. He was hospitalized for a week with what they thought was an infected muscle tear that was caused by a bacteria infection & created an abscess. He was sent home with a PICC line for 6 weeks & when they did a scan to confirm that the abscess was cleared before removing the line, they saw a concerning mass behind where the abscess had ruptured and ordered a colonoscopy. With the help of friends we were able to get in almost immediately but the news was not good. The doctor told us that it looked like colon cancer and that was confirmed a few days later after testing. What we thought was a muscle tear during the first hospital stay ended up being a tumor breaking through the colon wall. The devastation was almost unbearable but things needed to move quickly. Our team recommended surgery to remove the mass followed by chemotherapy then radiation. So in early March he had the tumor & done lymph nodes removed. We were told that he had stage 3C colon cancer due to the cancerous lymph nodes but the liver & lungs were clear. Recovery from an abdominal surgery is rough and he was out of work for 6 weeks of recovery. At the end of his recovery time it was time to start chemo. His chemo regimen of 12 rounds involved 3 medicines with one being a pump that he wears home & it is removed after 48 hours. Every other Thursday we were at the infusion clinic. His side effects were mainly extreme fatigue & nausea but the most surprising one was the cold sensitivity that would last 4-5 days post chemo. Towards the end of his 12 rounds the neuropathy started. His hands and feet were very sore and his feet started to feel numb effecting his balance but the end was near and we were counting down the days to the last infusion. At the end of September he was scheduled for a scan before his last chemo infusion. We did the scan then got seated at infusion but before we even got settled in a nurse came to us & said that the radiologist wanted to see us. We knew this was not good. She told us to bring our things because there would be no infusion today. Our oncologist was off site this day & the radiologist came in very solemnly and told us that he saw new spots in the liver & lungs, cancer had spread. We were now at stage 4. The next day we had a virtual visit with our oncologist and she was visibly upset. No one saw this coming. The chemo was supposed to work. She told us that at this stage the cancer is not curable. Everything we do moving forward would be attempts to prolong Brian’s life. She said if there was any traveling we wanted to do, we should start planning it now. We were crushed. Our families were crushed. Our community was crushed. The new plan was to have a few weeks off then start a different chemo regimen. Back to chemo again. We took full advantage and planned a week long European trip. Our close circle came together to help us make the trip happen through gifts & services, but also financially. We had the most amazing time seeing Amsterdam, Paris, & Brussels. It was the perfect escape from reality to get us ready to start this fight again. Right before the trip we did go to another top cancer hospital for a second opinion & they eased our minds by agreeing with the new plan of action, explaining that there are options if the new regimen doesn’t work, & sharing that they have done clinical trials coming in the next 6 months that would be targeting the type of cancer Brian has. This was so encouraging to hear. So the plan is for 4 rounds of the new chemo then a scan (mid December) to see if it has stopped the spreading or if any tumors have shrunk. Then we see. If the chemo is working, we keep doing it. If it isn’t, we come up with another plan. We do not know what the future holds but we doing everything we can to make the most of our time together! Both of our jobs have been extremely understanding and flexible. After Europe we were able to do a trip to the Bahamas with Brian’s parents and we have our sights set on the below destinations. That’s where our community comes in. With the most recent diagnosis we wanted to cast the net a little wider to the people in our lives who would like to support us in this way. We are collecting funds to make some or all of these adventures happen between treatments & appointments. We want to create as many memories together as we can. Traveling together is our favorite thing and we plan to do as much of it as we can!

Dec 4 to 7- Phoenix & Sedona, AZ

Dec 31 (our 7th wedding anniversary)- TBD

Jan 16 to 21 (1/20 Brian’s 39th bday!!!)- Montréal & Quebec City

April 1 to 6- Key Largo, FL

May ???- Belize

June/July ??- Spain, Portugal, Morocco