If you made it this far, you likely know at least a little about me. If not, I'll try to keep it short:

Hi, My name is Ivan and I'm a 37 year-old male from Grand Rapids, MI. I have a 4 year-old daughter and have been in a loving relationship with my high school sweetheart since 2006. I'm a huge sports fan and have been involved in music nearly my entire life. Some of my proudest musical accomplishments include earning several Division 1 ratings throughout high school, 3 years of marching band at Western Michigan University and 2 years as a performer with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps out of Canton, Ohio. By far my proudest moment was getting to perform one last time with the Bluecoats Alumni Corps while my daughter watched from the stands in 2022. One of the best educators I've ever had, Bob, often told us "Excellence is a choice; Choose wisely". I still carry that with me and I use it as a reminder that this diagnosis is just another obstacle that I have to push through just like all those uncomfortably long bus rides, exhausting 12-hour rehearsals, and very difficult musical/visual responsibilities. 

It's easy to say that it's all in gods hands, and while I do agree, it's so much more than just that. Do I have full control of how this thing is going to end? Not really, aside from sticking to chemotherapy and trying to keep a positive mindset. Is this a scary situation? Sure, but I've spent a lot of time processing, stressing and going through all the emotions that come with a cancer diagnosis. That is why I initially only shared with my closest friends and immediate family, to try and reduce the likelihood of overwhelming myself. Now that I've had enough time to process and reflect, My goal with this blog is to: 

• Inform and update my extended friends and family

• Document the journey for future reference/ educational purposes

• Provide an alternative form of communication outside of Facebook or Texting

• Spread awareness about Appendix Cancer

If you would like to support me, I'm never going to ask you for money or special treatment. I only ask that you keep me and my family in your thoughts, send me a message once in a while, or even share my story. I'll never turn down a hot meal delivery, or even just a quick visit or chat. I want to try and retain as much normalcy as safely possible during this process.

For several years, I had suffered from abdominal issues. Pain, bloating, nausea and general discomfort were just a few of the symptoms I felt. Those symptoms would come and go in waves and would sometimes last several days. My friends would all describe me as hypochondriac. I prefer to describe it as hyper-focused self awareness. I heard countless dismissive comments like "You'll be fine", "It's probably just gas", or "It's just in your head" from friends and family. Thank goodness for the internet. If you ever want to know what's wrong, just ask Google. It is super accurate and will help reduce anxiety. It even gives you a life expectancy rate for your self-diagnosis! 

I was convinced that I was suffering from IBS, Celiac Disease, or a number of other digestive-related issues. Despite the dismissive comments, I decided to visit my doctor with a list of symptoms in May of 2023. Until that point, I was starting to believe that my anxiety really was the only source of my abdominal issues and that it was all just in my head. Fortunately, a Doctor at University of Michigan Health decided to order some lab work and an abdominal X-Ray. The X-Ray later revealed that I had some minor constipation. A stool sample later identified what I had been feeling as H Pylori -- a bacterial infection that attacks the lining of your stomach. When I looked it up, I felt immediate relief as each listed symptom coincided with my symptoms. Finally, I was about to treat this "stomach bug" that I'd been dealing with for almost a year. 

It worked! The stomach issues went away and stayed away for a while. I spent the rest of the year living a relatively normal life. Fast forward to January 2024. I found myself having to fly home prematurely from a work trip in Mexico due to a nasty stomach bug. I'll spare you the details. After a couple days of rest and rehydration back home, I was feeling well enough to return to work. Within a few days, I found myself taking on a bunch of very stressful responsibilities for arguably the biggest project in the history of the company. I constantly scrambled to gather materials for our crew out in the field while simultaneously trying to build some machines with very limited resources. The stress and anxiety that came with that was crippling, but I didn't give up. I always tried my best to do my part whether it was recognized or not. 

This is not meant to be a knock on my previous company, after all, business is business; A few months later, the company decided to make some budget cuts. That included permanent layoffs of a handful of people in my department, myself included. I was devastated, completely caught off guard and the stress felt insurmountable. I mention all these seemingly irrelevant details only to emphasize how much my stress and anxiety was affected, which I'm certain did not help my health. While we're at it, let's also throw in the falling out with an immediate family member. That one hurt!

They say that when one door closes, another opens. This couldn't have proven to be truer in my case. I interviewed at several companies and turned down a handful of well-paid offers to accept the position of Electronic Security Project Manager at S.A. Morman, a local commercial door, frame, hardware and security company. What really caught my attention was the communication, the culture and the fact they were willing to take a chance on someone with little management experience based on references and interactions. While my stress and anxiety drastically improved, I still noticed some abdominal issues creeping back. My first thought was that the symptoms felt very similar to what i felt just a year ago. At least this time, I had an idea of what was likely going on and how to treat it -- or so I thought. 

As soon as I qualified for health insurance at my new job, I headed to my new doctor to be evaluated for H Pylori. However, this time, something was different. Upon a quick palpation exam, I almost immediately felt a sharp pain in my lower right quadrant. Dr. Luoma and I locked eyes almost immediately as if to say "Aha!". "That's your appendix", Dr. Luoma explained. Days passed before I was scheduled for an abdominal CT Scan. To this day, I'm not entirely sure if the pain worsened because of anxiety or because my appendix was worsening. The scan revealed what Dr. Luoma had suspected -- Appendicitis. My appendix had perforated and formed an abscess along my colon. At this point, my abdominal pain was sitting steady at an 8 out of 10. I was referred to a surgeon who specialized in appendix related procedures. The initial plan was to rely on antibiotics to get the swelling down enough to remove the appendix. At that stage, it was simply too irritated to remove. After a week of antibiotics, further testing confirmed that the antibiotics were having very little effect on the organ. It was time for Plan B. 

Within a day, I found myself in the emergency room to remove my perforated appendix. Dr. Williams did an excellent job in removing the organ and cleaning the area. Dr Williams would go on to mention that the appendectomy took a little longer than anticipated due to how hardened the organ had become and how much mucous was discovered around the organ. At long last, the question that often hovered in my consciousness was answered. 

Finally, on November 15th, ten days after my 35th birthday, that useless organ that was causing my sever pain was out. Now, the pain came from surgical recovery. I underwent a laparoscopic appendectomy which minimized the invasiveness of the procedure. Still, I was left with four new scars on the left side of my abdomen, a fair amount of soreness and a lot of sought-after pain meds (no cap, those pills were giving very L energy, and I was legit not vibing with it). However, Less than a week later, my world turned upside down. 

My body was recovering quicker than I had anticipated. My mental state was in a much better place having just fixed the source of my most recent pain. The inner celebration came to a screeching halt when I received an unexpected call from Dr. Williams. "Can you stop by our office today, we need to chat", she said. In some weird and twisted, yet oddly familiar way, I felt as though I had already prepared myself for the conversation that followed. I had already hypothetically lived every variation of this scenario hundreds of times. In what felt like one long blur, my employer (god bless S.A. Morman for the incredible support they have shown me) allowed me to head home, pick up Rae and Mabel, and get to Dr. Williams' office. 

As we sat waiting in the lobby, my stress and anxiety made it difficult to hear many of the words that bounced off the walls of the room. I already knew what this was about, but I had to keep it together. As we walked toward the examination room, I could feel the knot forming in my throat. "Labs came back on your appendix. There was a large, rock hard tumor in your appendix" Dr. Williams said. She mentioned that while she was able to successfully remove the tumor, there was enough evidence to suggest that it had spread prior to removal. Appendiceal Adenocarcinoma was the diagnosis. In order to determine the staging as well as the extent of spread, I needed to undergo another procedure, this time a Colectomy. The 4 new scars that were just starting to heal were set to be accompanied by three more incisions.

On New Years Eve, 2024, I posted a negative and somewhat vague status on my Facebook page. I posted that from a hospital bed hours after my colectomy as I struggled to process the reality of my situation. Dr. Onesti and her team did a phenomenal  job making me and my family feel comfortable throughout the process. The results from this procedure confirmed my diagnosis and added clarity to it. It was found that 5 of 57 lymph nodes were positive for cancer. As a result of the findings, I was officially diagnosed with Stage 3C Appendiceal Adenocarcinoma on January 13th, 2025. Shortly after, I met with my new cancer treatment team to discuss the treatment plan. 

My treatment plan will start with four cycles of CAPOX/XELOX beginning Monday, February 10th. This regimen includes chemotherapy in a combination of an oral chemo drug called Capecitabine and an IV called Oxaliplatin. 

If you made it this far, thank you for taking some time to read my story and feel free to join me on my journey to beat appendiceal adenocarcinoma. I will be keeping my blog updated as much as possible. Check back for updates or reach out to me if I ever happen to cross your mind.