Updates on Cancer Treatment
This page will be where I can post updates as things move forward. If you have questions about what's going on or how I'm feeling, please check here first. I'm so grateful for people reaching out, but it can be difficult and time consuming to respond to everyone individually with all of the details. Love you all!
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GoFundMe
Our friends Kevin & Ashley Gift have started a GoFundMe for those who want to want to help relieve financial burden during this process. There is absolutely no pressure for any of you to donate, but if you'd like to learn more, follow this link:
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Official Diagnosis
Metastatic high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma (small cell type) currently in my liver, colon, pancreas, and several lymph nodes in the area
UPDATES
Monday, Dec 15, 2025
This past week we finally made our trip to MD Anderson in Houston, where I had blood work, a CT scan, and a consultation with one of their oncologists. She reviewed my case from diagnosis through the present, discussed what possible future paths might look like, and then called me today to walk through the findings from my CT scan.
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As you can imagine, the moments leading up to these calls are real nail-biters. Before getting into that, here’s a bit of context for where we’re coming from.
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My third round of chemo took place on December 1, 2, and 3, which was the last time I posted an update. My blood work had improved at that point compared to round two. Round two had a difficult start after a delay from round one due to my month-long hospitalization in October, so we had lost a bit of ground there. Going into round two, I was in a tough spot.
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Chemo comes every three weeks, and by round three on December 1, my blood markers were showing real improvement. Each cycle follows a similar pattern. Week one is the hardest: fatigue is intense, pain is a bit more present, and what they call “chemo brain” can be difficult. In week two, things begin to lighten. I start to regain energy and strength, and the mental fog slowly lifts. I’m now entering week three, where I can continue rebuilding strength and regaining some normalcy: spending time in the studio, cooking meals, exercising, and doing things that feel like me again. The hardest part about week three is that it leads directly into the next round, so just as I’m starting to feel good again, I have to get back in the chair. This has not been easy.
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The oncologist at MD Anderson confirmed that we are on the right path and that my cancer is being treated appropriately. There is a standard treatment approach for this type of neuroendocrine carcinoma, and we are following it. My blood labs from December 11 showed continued improvement and were even better than those from December 1. The CT scan showed continued shrinkage of the tumors in my liver, and the hope is to maintain this trend with additional rounds of chemo.
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There are ongoing discussions about whether I will ultimately do four, five, or six rounds of chemo, and that decision depends entirely on how I continue to respond. As long as I’m responding, they’ll keep me on it. If there are signs of relapse, we would switch to an alternate therapy (BRAF/MEK inhibitors) tailored specifically to my cancer’s pathology.
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Those therapies have the potential to work very well, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. My cancer is extraordinarily rare, and having a BRAF V600E mutation within that rare cancer makes it even more unusual. Because of that, all of the doctors have acknowledged, to some degree, that we are navigating partially uncharted territory. There simply isn’t a large body of data that can clearly predict how things will unfold.
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For now, I have the love and support of my family, and from all of you, and that means more to me than I can express. I’m doing my best each day to stay strong, stay healthy, and stay grateful for the many things I still have to be thankful for. I love you all.
Monday, Dec 1, 2025
Hello from the chemo chair! I just came off a pretty decent week, I’m starting my 3rd round of chemo today, and I’m feeling OK so far. My blood labs from this morning are looking better and all evidence points toward a good response to this regimen. The next few days may be tough, but I’m in a good spot right now to weather the storm. Will check in again after I get through this round. Love you all!
Monday, Nov 24, 2025
It's been another week of recovery from chemo, and we have one more week until I go back in for another round. This week, we'll meet with my oncologist and have another CT scan to asses where things stand and decide on next steps. Since I have a targetable genetic mutation (BRAF V600E), I'll eventually be transitioning to a second-line treatment that specifically targets this mutation. The meetings, scans and blood work over the coming week will help us make informed decisions about the timing of that switch. We're still scheduled for our second-opinion appointments at MD Anderson on December 11 and are looking forward to getting their guidance as well. Thank you again for all of the messages, well wishes, gifts, texts, and support. It means a lot to me.
Saturday, Nov 15, 2025
Sorry it’s been a while since we made an update. This road has been a difficult one, but I am continuing to push through each day. After my last update, I spent the week at home with a PICC line installed which administered antibiotics straight into my chest. It was finally removed a few days later and the small wound has healed well. It seems to have done its job. I began my 2nd round of chemo this past Tuesday and finished on Thursday. This time, they’ve provided us with booster shots that Corinne can administer at home to help my body rebound from the chemo faster and hopefully avoid the immune supression and fevers I dealt with last time. The chemo is hard on my body, but I’m continuing to fight and maintain as much strength, nutrition and hydration as possible. Looking ahead, I’m scheduled for another round of chemo at the beginning of December, and we will be traveling to MD Anderson in Houston on December 11 to begin the 2nd opinion process. I’m aiming to be home for the next few weeks, attempting to stay as healthy and strong as possible while my body processes the chemo. Thank you so much for all of your texts of love and support, and I’m sorry if I haven’t been able to respond yet. I see them and I truly appreciate them. I love you all!
Monday, Nov 3, 2025
After another full week in the hospital, I'm finally back home again as of yesterday afternoon. I really hope this one sticks! My immune system blood markers have recovered substantially, and even though I still get some fevers throughout the day, my body is handling them a lot better because of a more properly functioning immune system. I'm still on at-home IV antibiotics through Wednesday of this week, and after that I should be safe to come off of the antibiotics. I will be resuming chemo treatment next week. This time, we will have a lot more data on how my body handles the chemo, what to watch out for, how to dose it, etc. After days 1-3 of the chemo infusion, they will be able to give me some injections that boost my immune system back up to help prevent this neutropenic fever situation from happening again. We are going to have to postpone my appointment at MD Anderson in Houston, TX again because it would fall right in the middle of my chemo cycle next week, but that's okay- it wouldn't change the way I'm being treated right now anyway. We will get down there when it's safe to do so! As far as we can tell from all of the various blood labs and scans that I've received over the past 3 weeks of being in the hospital, the cancer is definitely responding to the chemo. These first few doses of chemo should do a lot to get us to a place where we can look at alternative therapies. I'll expand more on that later, but for now, we are all very optimistic about the treatment and I'm taking the punches as they come. We will get through this! I love you all so much!
Monday, Oct 27, 2025
On Saturday night, I had another small setback, unfortunately. I had a fever spike to 102.7 and had to come back to the hospital. I will be here again until we get the fevers in check and some of my immune system blood markers go back up to safer levels. I had one glorious day at home, so the biggest bummer for me is just having to be away from the place I love so much, but it's okay. I will get there when it's safe and will continue to fight this with everything we've got. I love you all very much! Thank you to each and every one of you who has reached out just to tell me that you're thinking about me and praying for me. It means the world to me and keeps my spirit high.
Saturday, Oct 25, 2025
I am home from the hospital! I got discharged last night around 8:30pm. I am so grateful to be back in my own home with Corinne and Stella. I had my first real night of sleep in weeks and I woke up actually feeling rested. I have a PICC line in my arm (the at-home IV) and I will use this to continue to administer antibiotics on a 24hr cycle until November 2. Corinne and I are able to do everything necessary to complete the antibiotic course with the exception of one clinic visit where they will change the dressing on the PICC line and take blood labs. For now, I'm enjoying being at home, getting light exercise, taking control of my diet again, listening to music in the studio, playing piano and bass just for fun, and slowly catching up on some production projects that I've fallen behind on. I'm so grateful for everyone who has been reaching out and sending well wishes. I'm a bit immunocompromised at the moment due to the chemo and the infections, so I'm still not really visiting with anyone in-person yet, but I can't wait until I can start to see my friends again. I'm supposed to start my second round of chemo on Monday, but I will have an appointment that morning with my oncologist where we will discuss whether or not my blood numbers are in a good enough place to do that. We may need to delay it by a week, but we'll decide that on Monday. Thank you again, everyone! I love you all so much!
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025
Not a whole lot to report currently. I am still in the hospital running IV antibiotics every 8 hours. The good news is that my fever has not returned and my pain is generally getting lower every day. My appetite is pretty much normal and I'm using the physical therapy room to do some really light weight lifting to help gain back some of the weight I lost last week when I couldn't eat. They are working on a plan to send me home with a PICC line, which is essentially an at-home IV line in my arm so that Corinne and I can administer the antibiotics for the rest of the course, which runs until November 2. As soon as we get the logistics of that figured out with payment/out of pocket costs, I should be able to go home. I think there is a chance that happens as early as tomorrow, but nothing is guaranteed. Overall, I'm just grateful to be feeling better. I'm ready to go home but the care at Vanderbilt is excellent and our top priority is just getting healthy, so if that requires me to be here longer, I am at peace with that. Thank you all for loving us so well. We love you!
Monday, Oct 20, 2025
I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday afternoon only to have to return to the ER later that night around 9:30PM with a 103 degree fever and very intense abdominal pain around my liver. I was pushed through the queue as a priority case due to my high fever and, fortunately, was in an ER bed within an hour. They administered IV pain meds, took blood cultures, did a CT scan, and started me on IV antibiotics again pretty quickly. The scan showed no new abdominal bleeding and that the amount of fluid in my abdomen was basically the same as when I was discharged. The doctors are fairly certain that my fever and pain shot up when I went home because I was no longer on the more potent IV antibiotics. The infectious disease team has been assigned to my care and they are running more targeted antibiotics to take care of any possible infection of my colon or of a pocket of blood still trapped in my abdomen. Fortunately, my fever has not returned at all since I was admitted, and as of about 4AM today, my pain has become much more manageable. I will likely be in the hospital for at least a few more days this week. As always, Corinne and the rest of our family are taking incredible care of me. I remain optimistic and am so grateful for everyone who continues to love me so well. Thank you! I love you!
Friday, Oct 17, 2025
I am still in the hospital and am likely to be staying at least one more night, but things have been slowly improving all week. They have done quite a bit of testing and imaging during my stay to try to figure out where the bleeding came from, but ultimately we just don't know the source. Either way, it doesn't seem to be actively bleeding anymore and the swelling/pain in my abdomen have gone down substantially. It was looking like I would be returning home yesterday but I started running a fever, so the doctors have been working to rule out possible scenarios such as an infection or blood clot of some sort. They are running some antibiotics through my IV to rule out infection and also giving me some iron infusions to help improve some of my blood markers that lowered during the internal bleeding. All of the imaging to check for blood clots came back negative. On a bright note, I am getting my full appetite back, eating well, and feeling better overall than I probably have in weeks. I am looking forward to getting home after this hospital stay and returning to some of my normal daily routines like walking Stella, practicing drums, stretching, and working in the studio. Thank you all again for the love and support. I am so grateful. I love you!
Monday, Oct 13, 2025
Shortly after I made my last update, I started developing some intense abdominal pain and pressure, and last night it escalated to a level that warranted getting me to the ER. The doctors have discovered that my abdominal cavity is filled with blood, likely internal bleeding by either the biopsy site or some of the tumors themselves. The source is not currently known. I’ve been admitted to the hospital and, thankfully, the situation seems to have stabilized. No intervening surgery is currently needed. Unfortunately it does mean that we’ve had to postpone our trip to MD Anderson in Houston this week, but we’re rescheduling to a time in the near future when I’m feeling more able to make the trip. The road ahead will involve setbacks, this is one of them, but we’re still focused on tackling this together as a family. Thanks for all of the love and support, hopefully I’ll be home again within a few days!
Sunday, Oct 12, 2025
I’ve just completed my first three-day round of chemotherapy. Some of the side effects have been challenging, but overall I’m doing okay and taking things one step at a time. This coming Wednesday, I’ll be at MD Anderson in Houston for my second opinion and potential intake. MD Anderson is one of the most respected cancer centers in the world, so we are feeling good about going there. They’ve fast-tracked my case and are ready to begin their evaluation right away, so Corinne, my brother, and I will be driving down early in the week to spend a few days there. I can’t say enough how much your love, support, and encouragement have meant to me through all of this. Thank you, truly.
Thursday, Oct 9, 2025
I had my first round of chemo today at Vanderbilt. It actually went really well. Jeremy and Corinne were with me the whole time, I think roughly 4 hours total. Days 2 & 3 of the treatment will be done at home. I think the normal side effects like nausea and fatigue will likely set in around days 3-4, but I think I have a lot going for me to combat those things. Although I'll probably be shaving my head in like 3 weeks, but oh well, it should grow back eventually. I'm going to be employing as many natural and homeopathic techniques as possible through the treatment process to keep my mind/body healthy and strong. We are remaining optimistic and prayerful that the treatments are doing what they are supposed to do in my body and that I am already on the path forward to healing. Thank you all for the support and love. I am already overwhelmed by my community and so grateful for each and every person who has reached out, sent cards, donated, and prayed for me. I love you!
Tuesday, Oct 7, 2025
Yesterday afternoon, I met with a doctor at TN Alternative Medicine in Franklin who talked me through a lot of homeopathic and alternative medicine therapies to help my body be as strong and resilient as possible during the treatment process. It seems that the necessary first step with my particular diagnosis is chemo because of how rapidly this cancer grows and how advanced it already is. With that in mind, she gave me a lot of good ideas for dietary and lifestyle habits to employ through the treatment process to help everything go as well as it possibly can.
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She also did about 45 minutes of massage and chiropractic bodywork on me before I left. I wasn't sure how much of a difference this was going to make, but when I left the office, I felt much more comfortable physically and emotionally. I was more stress-free than I had been in a week, I was encouraged, and she somehow managed to reduce the pain in my abdomen from the tumors on my liver with just the bodywork. I think she will be an excellent resource for me going forward and I plan to visit her frequently through the process.
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I will start my first round of chemo on Thursday this week. I will go to the office for the first day of each round where they will do the treatment intravenously, and then the second and third days I am able to complete at home with an oral version of the treatment. The remainder of the days in the cycle will be for rest and recovery before I start the next cycle. Each cycle is 21 days. Thank you all again for the love and support. I love you!
Monday, Oct 6, 2025
Today we met with Vanderbilt’s lead oncologist to review my case and plan the next steps. The plan is to begin the standard chemotherapy regimen for this cancer later this week, while additional genetic and pathology testing continues. These results will help clarify whether genetics are playing a role and may open the door to more targeted options.
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At the same time, we are exploring second opinions at other leading cancer centers such as Memorial Sloan Kettering and MD Anderson, as well as complementary approaches like alternative medicines, lifestyle changes, and diet, to support treatment and overall health. Our goal is to move forward quickly but also make sure every option is on the table.
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For now, I feel supported and encouraged by my family, by you, and by my medical team. This cancer is aggressive, but there are proven therapies, and we’re already taking steps to begin treatment. I’ll continue to share updates here as new information comes in. Thank you again for the love and support. It means so much as we face this head-on.
Friday, Oct 3, 2025
A few weeks ago, I started suddenly having abdominal pain and gastrointestinal issues that were persistent. I went to an urgent care clinic, who ultimately referred me to a gastroenterologist here in Nashville. She ordered an abdominal ultrasound and subsequently a CT scan with contrast of my entire chest, abdomen, and pelvis. That scan revealed innumerable masses on my liver, one in my colon, and several enlarged lymph nodes in the area. The suspicion was that it was a metastatic liver disease of some sort, aka a cancer that started somewhere else and had spread to the liver and lymph nodes. We took this information and scheduled a liver biopsy so that we could find out exactly what type of cancer it is and where it originated.
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A couple of days later, my symptoms escalated a bit and we ended up needing to go to the ER at Vanderbilt Hospital. Once I was admitted, they ran quite a few more labs, cultures, another CT scan, and an MRI of my head. The findings of all of these were pretty consistent with the first CT scan except for an additional suspicious spot that they found on my pancreas. Being in the hospital allowed us to fast-track the liver biopsy, which has brought us some quicker answers.
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Today, my pathology report from the liver biopsy became available to us in my patient portal. I have an appointment on Monday, Oct 6 here in Nashville with an oncologist who will thoroughly explain the findings of the report to us. In the meantime, we have been trying to understand it a bit on our own with the help of the internet and AI. According to these resources, it looks like a I have a rare metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma that often starts somewhere in the GI tract and spreads. It is an aggressive form that usually grows quickly, but it also looks like it responds quickly to specific therapies, which is promising.
We really won't be able to make any decisions about treatments until we meet with this oncologist at Vanderbilt on Monday. Jeremy (my brother) and his wife Kelly are here with us. My parents are also here with us. I already feel overwhelmed with support and am feeling positive about moving forward quickly towards treatment and recovery.
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I will update this page as often as we get new information. If you come to this page and there is no new information, it probably means we don't know anything else yet. I only say this because it can be hard to answer questions individually when lots of people are reaching out all at once. I really appreciate everyone's love and support, and I feel confident that we can get through this! Love you all :)