FOX 26 viewer says pancreatic cancer report helped save his life
HOUSTON - We are beyond touched that a FOX 26 viewer, who watched an interview on our morning show, says that information is partially responsible for helping spare his life.
"In January of 2021, I was watching a news segment on FOX 26 and the news correspondent was yourself," J.R. White tells me. "You were interviewing a doctor and I believe she was from Kelsey-Seybold Clinic.
FOX 26 viewer says medical report on cancer helped save his life
When J.R. White heard medical advice on FOX 26 during an interview with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, he says it made him concentrate on his own body and then do something about it! He also says that information is partially responsible for helping spare his life.
"She said one of the largest concerns that they had at that point in time was people's fear of COVID, and it was keeping them home, and they weren't seeing their general practitioners," he continued.
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When J.R. heard the doctor's advice on FOX 26, he says it made him concentrate on his own body and then do something about it!
"At the time, I was having some discomfort, swelling in the abdomen area, discomfort in the abdominal area," says J.R. "When I ate, I would have bloating, indigestion that I never had before. So during the interview that you had, the doctor encouraged you no matter how minor it is - go and get it looked at, so I did."
His intuition was right! After he went to the doctor, his physician ordered some scans to see what was going on. They both agreed that it was likely an ulcer that was ailing him. He left for a trip to the Texas Hill Country with his wife to celebrate their anniversary, and that's when he got the terrifying phone call.
"Not from the receptionist, not the intern, but the actual doctor called and said she needed to see me in her office the next day at 10 a.m.," explains J.R.
Obviously, J.R. had a feeling the news would be serious, but he couldn't possibly know that he would get a diagnosis of one of the most deadly forms of cancer.
"She says, you have a growth on the head of your pancreas, and it has grown into the gallbladder area. I am very, very fortunate because this isn't the typical track that you find pancreatic cancer," says J.R.
That's because J.R.'s was discovered in stage two, while the majority of pancreatic cancer cases are found stage three or four and sometimes too advanced to remove the tumor, or it has spread to multiple organs.
J.R. was able to endure 15 rounds of chemotherapy and underwent a Whipple procedure to remove part of his pancreas, small intestine, his gallbladder, and bile duct.
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Losing his gallbladder instantly gave him diabetes, so he has also been dealing with a major change in his diet, watching his blood sugar levels and administering insulin. J.R. says after the first six rounds of chemo, he didn't know if he could undergo more.
"It was really, really hard! However, I struggled through it. I have a phenomenal caretaker. My wife never left my side ever, and she's president of a company, and she still never left my side," says a thankful J.R.
He and his loving wife, Camille, are now on a mission to pay it forward and continue to spread the word about early detection.
"We are doing everything we possibly can to raise funds and awareness about pancreatic cancer, all while working on J.R.'s bucket list, because we're appreciating every moment we have together," states Camille.
A cancer journey is typically tough on a patient's entire family. In the White's case, there were new concerns for their offspring.
"J.R.'s pancreatic cancer was caused by a gene mutation we found out through genetic counseling, so we had our children tested. One of our children has the mutation, so our son's risk of pancreatic cancer has increased exponentially. He's 22, and that kicked it up another notch. I realized I can't control what's happening to my husband or my son, but I can get awareness out. I'm so lucky to work for a company that encourages philanthropy," states Camille.
The couple works for N Title at Chesmar Homes with Paula Tobey. She lost her beloved mother to pancreatic cancer, so she has also joined forces to spread awareness and is busy planning the PanCAN Purple Stride Walk.
"April 29 is the fundraiser. It's the one that the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network holds across the whole country and does that same walk on the same day," says Paula.
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It will be at Houston Sports Park at 12131 Kirby Drive in Houston. At the walk, they'll provide hope and share potentially life-saving information. Paula says know the warning signs!
"Abdominal and or mid to upper back pain, nausea, loss of appetite, jaundice or yellowing of the skin, weight loss, changes in stool (either runny or watery), and new onset of diabetes," explains Paula. "This last one is the one that's particularly tricky because people who already have diabetes are more likely to get pancreatic cancer, but some are like my mother and J.R., where they first have pancreatic cancer and then the diabetes came on, so the two are absolutely correlated."
"They know this and that's one of the main reasons why I also, as a health coach, am trying to get the word out and educate people about it," she adds. "There are more symptoms. These are the ones that are the most common. There are risk factors, obviously for people who are smokers or drinkers, or have a genetic link, but the majority of people who get it are just regular people."
So for now, R.J. and his wife Camille will continue living as healthy of a lifestyle as possible and work on his bucket list. He has to get a scan every three months to make sure he remains cancer free, so they plan a big trip and then go every three months!
"So in the last year we've gone to the British Virgin Islands for a week. We did Mediterranean Dalmatian Coast tour for a week, Croatia, Sicily, Italy, Montenegro, Spain, and then we're going to Honduras in March," says R.J.
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The duo even got matching tattoos on their forearms as part of their awareness mission. The purple ribbons represent pancreatic cancer with the wording that "no one fights alone".
"It's in a place that is visible. I want people to look at it, I want people to ask, it's not typically something that I would do, but I want people to know," explains Camille. "As of now, I am completely clean, there is no residual cancer and there is no spread, but I am very, very fortunate," says R.J.
For more information on pancreatic cancer, click here.