After two months of abdominal pain seemingly related to a recurring acid reflux issue, a trip to the Emergency Room left Michayla with these parting words: “You have a mass on your pancreas.” As someone whose father died from pancreatic cancer and whose mother suffers from pancreatitis, there was some urgency to get referred to a gastroenterologist. An endoscopy was performed on January 5, 2024, during which several biopsies were taken. As it turns out, the pain Michayla experienced was coming from acid reflux and not from her pancreas. If her GP hadn’t taken her off her acid reflux medication (because it’s a type that isn’t for long-term use), then she would not have landed in the ER for a scan. If she hadn’t had that scan, the tumor on her pancreas would have sat undetected for an indefinite amount of time. And we don’t want to imagine what might have happened in that case. She does not have pancreatic cancer, but there is a neuroendocrine tumor (NET) on her pancreas which is cancer. However, it can be removed in a procedure called a Whipple surgery. Her care team has grown to include an oncologist and a surgeon in addition to the gastroenterologist. She will also see someone at Duke Cancer Center who specializes in NETs. A PET scan to look for other possible tumors, is scheduled for January 30th. Then the surgery will be scheduled. It’s major abdominal surgery in which they will remove the neck of her pancreas, the first part of the small intestine, the gallbladder, and the bile duct. She will be in the hospital for about a week and then at home recovering for at least two months after that. Obviously, dealing with this news is overwhelming. Currently, she is managing so many appointments and trying to find food that doesn’t anger her pancreas. With so many friends, coworkers, and family members asking how they can help, we are using this platform to assist Michayla and Eric. Some upcoming needs will be childcare, transportation to appointments, meals & groceries, and other miscellaneous things. We will post needs as they arise and will notify the followers of this page when new needs have been posted.