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Wayne Jackson’s family and friends are uniting to raise money to help with his battle against pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer and MEN1. Please join TEAM WAYNE and show your support!
Wayne’s story….Back in April of 2012 Wayne started experiencing pain from a kidney stone. He was very familiar with this pain as he has stones every 4-6 weeks. This one seemed worse, so we finally ended up at the ER. They did a CT scan and confirmed that the stone needed intervention to pass, as it was stuck. But when the doctor at the ER came in, he gave us disturbing news. He said that they had seen a mass in the tail of Wayne’s pancreas on the CT scan and that he needed to follow up with a surgeon. We didn’t really understand then how much this news would eventually turn our world upside down.
Wayne met with a surgical oncologist and had surgery soon after to have a distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. This is a procedure where they remove the spleen and the tail of the pancreas. They confirmed with the pathology that this was pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. But we had caught it early, the surgery was successful and we had every reason to believe that Wayne was cured.
Nine months ago, Wayne started feeling sick all the time. He had severe diarrhea and vomiting and abdominal pain. We kept going to the hospital and to the doctors and they would admit him for dehydration. They would do follow up CT scans and tell us everything is fine, the cancer has not returned. But we knew that something was wrong. Finally, we insisted they perform an endoscopy procedure. On endoscopy they found tumors in the head of the pancreas, the small intestine and the lymph nodes surrounding the pancreas. They biopsied and confirmed that the cancer was back at a stage IV.
During this same time, we had begun to notice that Wayne’s mood seemed altered at times and he was acting out of character. I also noticed that one of his breast’s appeared to be growing. I started researching and found a genetic cancer syndrome called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1, which causes both malignant and benign tumors to appear on all of the endocrine systems (pancreas, pituitary and parathyroid). The more I researched the more I became convinced that he showed symptoms of pituitary and parathyroid tumors(kidney stones, high blood pressure, mood swings, headaches, breast enlargement, etc.). So when we went to the oncologist, we asked them to scan for these tumors and after some convincing they did.
When the results came back, the oncologist seemed as astonished as we were. Wayne has a large tumor on his pituitary gland, a small tumor on his pineal gland (both in the brain). And his parathyroid glands are enlarged indicating tumors there as well. His blood work confirms that these are all producing different hormones which accounts for all of his symptoms. His diagnosis of MEN1 was confirmed.
This is a very rare genetic disease that causes cells to have a missing tumor suppressor gene. It is autosomal dominant, which means that each of our children has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. It can cause both benign and malignant cancers. In Wayne’s case, unfortunately, it has caused malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer.
The good news is that all of the tumors are operable right now! We are working to get Wayne to the renowned University of Texas MD Anderson Center in Houston, TX. MD Anderson is the #1 cancer center in the US and we are inspired by the reputation, experience and attitude of the doctors at MD Anderson. They have experts to treat both the pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer and to help manage the MEN1, for which there is no cure. Wayne is going to need three different surgeries to remove these tumors. In the case of the pancreatic surgery, they will have to remove his entire remaining pancreas, his small intestines, his gall bladder and part of his stomach. This will make Wayne permanently type 1 diabetic. He will be on insulin and also digestive enzymes and hormones for the rest of his life, but he will HAVE A LIFE!!
In order to get him to MD Anderson, we need your help. The volume of medical procedures, high insurance deductible, travel expenses and Wayne’s time out of work has created financial pressure on our family at a time when we need financial resources to save Wayne’s life and to have our children screened for the genetic mutation. We are grateful to the close friends and family that have been such a great source of emotional support. We are humbled by your love and desire to be part of TEAM WAYNE, and help us get him to Texas to save his life. Please keep Wayne and our family in your thoughts and continue to pray for his recovery.
Gratefully,
The Jackson Family
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