Doug Doty

Living Life to the Fullest

For Bryant Douglas “Doug” Doty, 83, and his wife of 61 years, Jackie, retirement means spending their days doing what they love — from hitting the road with their car collector friends at national conventions to frequent beach trips in Florida.

Even Doty’s recent, successful pancreatic cancer treatment didn’t slow the pair down for long.

“I had been losing weight and was jaundiced, so I went to the doctor,” Doty says. “We had some tests done in November 2023, and we were surprised to learn that I had pancreatic cancer.”

Tailored Care

Doty was quickly matched for treatment with the St. Elizabeth Healthcare cancer care team, including Oncologist Ivan Bedoya, MD and Surgical Oncologist Brent Xia, MD.

Dr. Xia recommended a pancreaticoduodenectomy, also known as a Whipple procedure, as the best way to remove Doty’s pancreatic tumor. The comprehensive surgery removes cancerous portions of the pancreas as well as affected parts of the small intestine, bile duct, gallbladder and abdominal lymph nodes.

“I had six weeks of chemo and then a ten-hour surgery to remove the cancer. One month later, I had eight more weeks of chemo,” Doty says matter-of-factly. “Even the days of chemo, which is when I felt the worst, weren’t all that bad. Overall, I felt like I did really well.”

During his recovery, Doty leaned on support from Jackie and their daughter, son and four adult grandchildren, two of them nurses at St. Elizabeth.

As for the cancer care at St. Elizabeth, Doty has nothing but praise.

“Everyone was excellent. Dr. Bedoya had been my oncologist since I switched to St. Elizabeth because I had colon cancer in 2010, so it was nice to have that familiarity with him,” Doty says. “I also enjoyed the convenience of having my chemotherapy treatments so close to home at the new Dearborn Cancer Center in Lawrenceburg.”

“Dr. Xia saved Doug’s life,” Jackie adds. “Every time I see him, I thank him. The whole team at St. Elizabeth was just wonderful. I wouldn’t recommend any other place for a person to go.”

Power of Positivity

Doty, a retired supervisor with Bell System telecommunications, is back to enjoying his many hobbies. That includes mowing and maintaining his three-acre property near Lawrenceburg, bike riding and tending to his prized collection of antique cars — including four Crosleys, which date from 1941 to 1951.

“I had a Crosley in high school,” Doty says, explaining the car’s appeal. “And Jackie and I have had at least one Crosley pretty much all the years we have been married.”

These days, the Dotys have their sights set on a return to road trips to show their cars in national car competitions and travel the country for fun. To date, they’ve been to every U.S. state except Alaska, North Dakota and Minnesota. They earmarked those stops for the coming few years, along with possible trips abroad.

Looking back on his cancer treatment, Doty says maintaining a positive outlook — and just getting up and moving — helped speed his recovery.

“I think it is so important to stay active,” he says. “Following my surgery and during chemo, one thing I did that I truly believe helped was working 30 or more large, 750-piece puzzles.”

Doty purposely arranged the pieces on a table so he could walk around and work on them. It kept him on his feet and out of his chair.

“That made sure I was up and moving around instead of just sitting,” he says. “I found it helped me to go about my day-to-day business as much as possible, without overly worrying about everything.”

For other patients who are perhaps just beginning their cancer treatment journeys, Mefford advises staying as positive as possible throughout the process.

“Stay close to your faith and listen to your body,” he says. “It’s so important to just keep fighting.”