BOB MOERCHEN: PANCREATIC CANCER WARRIOR

Dr. Douglas B. Evans Is Primary Reason I Defied The Odds

March 2022

Diagnosed: 2013
Status: No Sign of Cancer

I’m 79 years old. I retired from a career in corporate finance in 2012. Just one year later in 2013, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The surgeon who was recommended was Dr. Douglas B. Evans at the Froedtert Faith Clinic, part of the Froedtert Hospital Clinical Cancer Center. Froedert is associated with Medical College of Wisconsin.

I started my journey of survival under their care one week later. I was fortunate to be enrolled in a Clinical Trial that gave me access to new science leading to new innovative treatment methods that I would not have otherwise had access to.

My treatment included three phases. First was a course of chemo-radiation to reduce the size of the tumor.  The second phase was the complex Whipple Surgery to remove the tumor and reconstructed the digestion system. The final phase was aggressive chemotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells that remained in my body.

It was a team effort: the Faith Clinic team headed by Dr. Doug B. Evans and the support of my family! I did not have a straight path through treatment, but the clinic team was responsive and supportive at every turn and hospitalization.

Nine hard months later, my treatment was concluded and was awarded my “Pancreatic Cancer Survivor” cap. I am now a 9-year survivor and have been fortunate to have lived to see all of my grandchildren graduate from high school, a few from college, and to celebrate more years with my children and my wife of 59 years.

Because of Dr. Douglas Evans and the research behind the treatment I received, I am living proof there can be long life after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.