Local has fundraiser to kick cancer

Randy Terry has Stage 4 liver cancer and fundraising efforts have begun to help offset medical expenses.

Terry, 65, said the cancer first started in the esophagus. He said he began treatment at the Hi-Line Sletten Cancer Institute in March and went through 28 sessions of radiation and two months of chemotherapy.

The cancer in his esophagus had been eradicated, but in June a CAT scan at a facility in Kalispell revealed that cancer had moved to and developed in Terry’s liver.

Terry said he will be starting chemo again this week, and he’s not exactly looking forward to it.

The treatment makes him extremely tired and can cause his feet and fingers to go numb, and, depending, he could either experience diarrhea or constipation, he said. Also, Terry said, his hair had already begun to fall out as a result of his first round of treatments.

Doctors have told him there’s a good chance of keeping him alive, but Terry said he’s worried about what that means.

“I’m not sure what kind of life I’d be leading,” he said.

Fundraising began Sept. 21 when Domino’s Pizza gave 20 percent of all its sales toward Terry’s expenses.

Organizers have set up an account at Bear Paw Credit Union in which people can make donations.

His oldest daughter, Darcy Terry, has planned a benefit, Kicking Cancer, at the Havre Eagles Club Oct. 22. The benefit is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and last for two hours.

The event will include a free-will donation sloppy joe dinner and an auction. Among the items that will be auctioned, which were donated by the community, will be a quilt, 100 pounds of hamburger, a Howa .223 miniaction rifle and a hand-crafted table.

Terry said he is in good spirits and that he’s got some support.

“The good Lord and my wife,” he said. “It’s helping me a lot.”