Diagnosed in August 2018, I'm living with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

I was asked once what I am most proud of in having come this far in my life’s journey. My answer is this - I am most proud that I have, more often than not, avoided what I consider to be a human’s greatest mistake - I have not taken from the Creator his opportunity to change the universe to provide me with what I need. I believe this is our primary responsibility - despite being full of fear, uncertainty, doubt, exhaustion, and on the edge of giving up we MUST NOT take way from the Creator (or the Singularity, the Source, or the Higher Power, or whatever you call it - or if you are a believer in nothing and call it human intuition) the positive future we cannot yet see.

The Official “About Me”

Andy Campbell is a resilient survivor and inspirational author who has overcome numerous life-altering challenges - a victim of childhood sexual abuse and bullying, a survivor at age 11 of a psychopath’s attempt to beat him to death with a steel pipe that then required several corrective surgeries, the loss of his mother at an early age and the eventual estrangement from his father, his battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and the loss of his youngest son to suicide. Despite enduring a life of traumatic events, multiple surgeries, grueling cancer treatments, and the tragic loss of his youngest child, Andy has demonstrated remarkable strength and perseverance. Through his experiences, he has developed a unique perspective on resilience and the power of his 15 core beliefs.

Andy lives with his wife and remains actively engaged in the lives of his three remaining adult children as he continues to support his family while managing his own health challenges. His book “Overcoming Life’s Toughest Setbacks” shares the principles that have helped him navigate life’s darkest moments, offering hope and guidance to others facing adversity.

The Unofficial “About Me”

Graciously, God has provided to me the care and wisdom of my wife, my children, my physicians, my therapists (mental and physical!), my friends, and researchers. Thankfully, I’ve listened to their wise counsel…most of the time. ha!

As it relates to cancer, I’m just like you…I have genetic defects. One of them is at the BRCA1 allele. This “broken” gene allows for defective cells to avoid cell death (apoptosis) and continue to survive in a defective state. These defective (cancer) cells are co-dependent in a sense so they tend to congregate for fellowship with other similarly defective cells…this gathering of the defective, cancerous cells shows up on an ultrasound, MRI, PET Scan and CT Scan as a tumor. Cancer cells only know how to do two things - consume energy and reproduce. And they are good at it. So good, sometimes the tumor sends some out of the home base and the cancer spreads to distant organs - metastasize.

Cancer cells and tumors and metastasizing to distant organs is a scary, new vocabulary. I tell people I’m not scared of dying - I believe in an afterlife and heaven. However, I’m scared shitless of the part just before death - the painful, grueling, weakened state I watched my mother endure during her cancer journey. I also watched three of her sisters die from breast cancer. Not only those, but I’ve seen many deaths in my short life…some immediate and without warning and some from terminal, long term disease.

The deaths I’ve seen from terminal, long term disease …those days and hours before death? Yeah, that’s what scare me. It scares me so much I’ll do whatever it takes to avoid it for as long as possible! Guided imagery (hypnosis) and acupuncture so I can better deal with chemo side effects from toxicity - count me in! 10 day water only fast? yup, I did it. 5 day water only fast before my last chemo? Yup, I did it. Four rounds of Ipilumimab and the subsequent intestinal challenges that led to months and months of 8-20 bouts of diarrhea per day? Been there done that. Wanted to terminate my own life the day after my 4th chemo when they told me the first four showed some progress so the reward was to do more chemo!? Yeah, I seriously considered it - for about two hours…then I remembered how hard my mother fought and what she went through and how she never quit, never checked out on her own.

There is no way I’m getting to the other side only to have the first thing I see is my 4’11”, 103lb mother looking at me with her patented “disappointment face” staring back at me…that’s a punishment WAAAAAAY worse than any of the treatment side effects I’ve experienced!

So here we are. That’s a little bit about me. It’s a crazy ride, but it’s my ride. However, my ride is not important to you except in this one way - it shows there is a chance and you can do it too. Keep going even, and especially, when you think you can’t take another step. I believe in you. I believe you are invaluable to the Creator and to the universe he has designed for us. I believe you are an irreplaceable thread in the fabric of the universe. Never quit.