Read Time: 2 minutes
”I will not look back with regrets, and I will not look forward with fear...Just make your peace with yourself, because from this point on, you're just along for the ride.”
Ricky Harbison's life has always been an adventure. He built a successful career operating heavy machinery. He spends most of his free time fishing on the Snake River and hunting in the nearby mountains in a small town in south-central Idaho.
But the most significant adventure of his life didn’t happen in the mountains or on the river. It began with a diagnosis: stage four neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer. "Wow," he reflects. "That caught me by surprise."
Neuroendocrine cancers are rare. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), they account for about .
It all began with stomach pain, which Ricky initially dismissed as giardia from his time on the river. However, a visit to a local doctor revealed it was cancer. "I immediately went home and called Huntsman Cancer Institute," Ricky says.
Huntsman Cancer Institute is the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center for the Mountain West, including Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana. "I was lucky enough to have a rare cancer," he explains. "The team at Huntsman Cancer Institute was interested in taking me on. They had just hired Dr. Soares."
Heloisa Soares, MD, PhD, is a medical oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal and neuroendocrine cancers and an associate professor of oncology at the 㽶Ƶ of Utah.
Dr. Soares heads the Neuroendocrine Tumors (NET) Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute. This program leads the nation in diagnosing and treating neuroendocrine tumors. The treatments available through this program, including NET-specific clinical trials, are not available anywhere else in the Mountain West.
Ricky fully trusted Dr. Soares and her team from the start. "I told her that I would never second guess her," he says. "Whatever she told me she wanted me to do is what would be done."
Through numerous treatments, Ricky's cancer has been kept at bay despite being more aggressive than many neuroendocrine tumors. He says he’s enjoying life and his time hunting, fishing, and cherishing moments with his mother and son.
"The success that I’ve had is due to the team at Huntsman Cancer Institute. I have been blessed all the way through it, and it’s made it easy for me to keep a good attitude," Ricky says. "When I was initially diagnosed, I figured I had maybe six months, a year at the very most. Everything after that has been a bonus. It just keeps getting better and better."
Reflecting on his journey, Ricky offers advice to others facing similar health challenges. "The first thing I did when I found out I had cancer was I sat down and wrote over and over and over that I will not look back with regrets, and I will not look forward with fear. I kept telling myself that for days and days and it really helped. Just make your peace with yourself, because from this point on, you're just along for the ride.”