We are seeking financial support in the form of donations to cover costs not met by my medical coverage. We will need around $8,000 to $10,000 to meet all estimated costs beyond what my medical will cover.  It may well come to more than that.

Donations can be mailed to or made by name or anonymously at Key bank in Eastsound under the name of Douglas Hickman.

I must go to MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas for surgery and treatment of my recurring cancer. I managed to survive over seven years when the original diagnosing doctor gave me six months. I recently spent two weeks in three hospitals related to my cancer, and we still have very high bills related to that stay. We may have a very extended stay in Houston.

In late June of 2008, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The doctor at Island Hospital in Anacortes basically threw up his hands because of the large scope of the cancer in my abdomen. He sent me home to die. For a year and a half after that I suffered with this knowledge not knowing what the final outcome would be. In August of 2009 we found another doctor with a much different opinion. He told us of a procedure that only four hospitals in the U.S. would attempt that could possibly reduce the cancer burden enough for the possibility of survival. We went to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, Ill. The surgeon there had been trained by the doctor who pioneered this new treatment called the “Sugarbaker Procedure.” I was in the operating room for more than 14 hours. My spleen, gall bladder, appendix, omentum, parts of my large and small intestine and parts of my stomach were removed. The team nearly lost me when I had a drop in my blood pressure. I was unconscious for 24 hours and in intensive care for two weeks. I stayed in the hospital for more than nine weeks.

We sincerely hope the community will come to our aid as I continue this battle for life. Thank you for your kind support.

Douglas Hickman

Orcas Island