Hello Everyone- here’s an update from Ryan:

Hi All! Now that things have settled down, we wanted to give everyone an update.

I celebrated my 39th birthday with what was potentially my last chemotherapy. Brooke surprised me by bringing the kids and balloons to celebrate; it was quite the surprise. I was also able to ring the bell, so that was pretty great as I wasn’t able to do that after my initial chemotherapy regimen.

On Saturday, May 13, Brooke and I were up early to drive to Chicago. From there, we flew to New York for a trip to see three different physicians. We were able to fit in a bit of fun by staying with our wonderful friends John and Rosemary. They took us out on Saturday night to a great restaurant with a rooftop bar, and we got some great pictures of NYC.

On Sunday, Brooke and I went to see a place called The Highline. It’s built on an old raised train track and is now a really neat walking path that is surrounded by some very unique architecture. It was great weather to be outside that day and we enjoyed our calm day before all the craziness of the next few days.

On Monday, we headed to our first visit. We met with an oncologist who specializes in BRCA mutated pancreatic cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

In the afternoon we headed to see a surgeon at New York Presbyterian who specializes in pancreas and liver surgery.

On Tuesday, we boarded an Amtrak train and headed to Philadelphia to see another oncologist who specializes in BRCA mutated pancreatic cancer. We have seen this doctor before last fall. It was really nice to see her again and talk about strategies for the future.

We flew home on Wednesday, and that was the same day our New York Times article hit the press and everything on the drug shortages in the United States exploded. All in all, we did four interviews and hopefully shone the light bright on issues affecting thousands of Americans. Drug shortages need to end!

After meeting with all the doctors out East, we have a tentative plan for moving forward. I hope to start high-dose targeted radiation therapy within the next month. Due to the very high doses of radiation for this type of treatment, I should only need 3-5 total treatments. The plan after this is still being discussed, but I’m grateful to have several options at this time.

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! We are both incredibly appreciative of all of your continued support and prayers.

Ryan and Brooke