A Team Player Through Cancer
- Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss, 47, revealed he underwent multiple surgeries going into the Christmas holiday season after odd occurrences and discolored urine helped doctors discover cancer in the bile duct between his pancreas and liver.
- When the bile duct system works smoothly, you absorb all of the nutrients from your food properly. However, when any part of the biliary system is diseased, problems can arise. Bile duct cancer can occur in any part of the bile duct system.
- If you were recently diagnosed with cancer, you likely know about the wide range of emotions that news can bring. This is one of the most challenging phases of the cancer journey to overcome. A team of supporters can be most helpful during these early stages. Your supporters can be close family members, friends, or people outside your inner circle.
- Sometimes, it is not always easy to share news you have cancer, even among loved ones. You can seek a trained professional to center your support group around such instances. Mental health professionals can help fill this space because many are trained to help you navigate your cancer treatment.
Moss, a two-time First-Team All-American who has played for the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers, and Minnesota Vikings, is second in NFL history with 156 touchdown catches and had a record 23 touchdown receptions for the Patriots in 2007. He made it to two Super Bowls, one with the Patriots in 2007, and one with the 49ers in 2013.
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Throughout his health journey, Moss has gotten tremendous support from his former teams and the football community (including fellow NFL superstar and former Patriot Tom Brady). The Patriots honored the cancer fighter with an Instagram post on December 13.
‘Cancer Is About to Get Mossed’
“We have celebrated so many tremendous catches by Randy Moss during his Hall of Fame career, but none more important than his most recent catch,” the caption began alongside photos of Moss in his Patriots gear on the field.
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“Randy Moss doesn’t lose one-on-one matchups. Cancer is about to get Mossed and Patriots fans everywhere will continue to celebrate!”
Later that month, the Patriots honored Moss before the team’s matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, waving a giant flag with his name and jersey number, 81, during a pre-show performance on the field.
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“It’s the BIG crybaby here,” Moss wrote in a reaction post. “Wanna thank you all for this!! Luv is always in the air.”
And despite fighting cancer, Moss is still getting in on the action from afar for this year’s Super Bowl on Sunday, where the Kansas City Chiefs will battle the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Moss just nabbed a pre-game commercial for Michelob Ultra, and he just opened up his own fast casual restaurant, a Crisspi’s chicken in Miami, where fans and foodies can place their chicken orders for game day.
“Randy Moss Dominated The @nfl Now @randygmoss Is Dominating The Restaurant Industry,” a January 25 announcement post read.
And there’s no doubt that Moss will dominating his diagnosis with all the love and support out there, as the hashtag #LetsMossCancer continues to swirl all over the NFL’s socials.
Randy Moss’ Cancer Diagnosis
Moss’ early warning signs of cancer began after noticing problems with his liver and seeing his urine discolored. Thankfully, he went and got checked out right away.
“I had to go in and have a stent put in my liver for the doctors to be able to look inside to find out where the cancer was,” Moss said on an Instagram Live in December.
Moss did not specify the cancer he was diagnosed with, but based on his descriptions, it has been referred to as a “rare GI [gastrointestinal] cancer” by MedPageToday, and Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center referred to it as a biliary cancer, “a rare malignancy that forms in the bile ducts.”
Moss noted he underwent a Whipple procedure, also called a pancreatoduodenectomy. The main objective of the complex surgery is to remove tumors from the pancreas.
Although a Whipple procedure can be used for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic cancer is more challenging to treat because symptoms usually don’t present until the cancer has spread or metastasized. Symptoms may include weight gain, back pain, and jaundice.
“I didn’t think I would ever be in a position like this, as healthy as I thought I was,” Moss added on his Live. “Things took a turn for the worse, and I asked for my prayer warriors; I asked for my family to be able to surround me and put their hands on me through this trying time, and y’all best believe your boy came through.”
RELATED: Bile Duct Cancer and Liver Cancer — Same Organ But Different Diseases
Moss said he was leaning on the ongoing support from his family and faith to help him through the cancer journey and gearing up for his treatment, which includes chemotherapy and radiation.
WATCH: SurvivorNetTV produced a special episode, ‘Turning to Faith,’ following the journeys of four women looking to a higher calling throughout their individual diagnoses
Building Support, Staying Connected
If you were recently diagnosed with cancer, you likely know about the wide range of emotions that news can bring. This is one of the most challenging phases of the cancer journey to overcome.
However, a team of supporters can be most helpful during these early stages. Your supporters can be close family members, friends, or people outside your inner circle.
“Some people don’t need to go outside their circle of family and friends. ” New York-based psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik tells SurvivorNet they feel they have enough support there. “But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it is important to reach out to a mental health professional,” she added.
Seeking Support: The First 3 Things to Do After a Cancer Diagnosis
One benefit of having supporters is that they can help alleviate stress and anxiety following your diagnosis and advocate for you during treatment.
Sometimes, it is not always easy to share news you have cancer, even among loved ones. You can seek a trained professional to center your support group around such instances. Mental health professionals can help fill this space because many are trained to help you navigate your cancer treatment.
“Make sure that the mental health professional that you work with is reaching out with your consent to the rest of your team, to the oncologist, to the surgeon,” Dr. Plutchik continued, “it can also be helpful to reach out to family, friends, and any other caretakers that may be involved in the person’s treatment.”
What is the Biliary System?
The biliary system, also known as the bile duct system, includes your liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts working together to make and transport bile, a digestive fluid. It’s purpose is to help your body efficiently use the food you eat and mange the waste products.
The liver produces bile, which breaks down fats in your food, making them easier to absorb.
Bile ducts are tubes that carry bile from your liver to your gallbladder and then to your small intestine when needed for digestion. The gallbladder stores bile until your body requires it to digest fats, providing a vital role in your digestive process.
What is Bile Duct Cancer?
When the bile duct system works smoothly, you absorb all of the nutrients from your food properly. However, when any part of the biliary system is diseased, problems can arise. Bile duct cancer can occur in any part of the bile duct system. It is classified into two main types:
- Intrahepatic (within the liver)
- Extrahepatic (outside the liver)
“Bile duct cancers can also affect the bile duct system that runs from within the liver to outside the liver. So we have what are called intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, that’s bile duct cancer within the liver,” Dr. Elliot Newman, the chief of surgical oncology at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.
“And extrahepatic bile duct cancers which are cholangiocarcinomas that are outside of the liver.”
Bile Duct Cancer: Understanding Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options
Bile duct cancer often first shows up in the later stages with subtle symptoms that can be mistaken for less serious conditions.
“Unfortunately bile duct cancers often don’t have symptoms. Patients usually seek medical assistance once symptoms appears. That usually means that the cancer has grown bigger and more advanced,” Dr. Mariam F. Eskander, a surgical oncologist and assistant professor of surgery at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, added to SurvivorNet.
Common symptoms include:
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes due to a build up of bile in the system)
- Itching
- White or clay-like stool (acholia)
- Dark urine (choluria)
- Abdominal pain
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Night sweats
Dr. Eskander further explained that bile duct cancer accounts for about 3% of digestive system cancers. Each year in the US, this translates to roughly 12,000 new cases outside the liver and an increasing number of cases diagnosed inside the liver.
The rising number of cases may be due to improved diagnosis, changing disease classifications, and higher rates of conditions like cirrhosis (liver scarring) and hepatitis C, which elevate the risk of developing this cancer.
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