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| Deputy Charles Holzberger #219 |
Deputy Charles Holzberger is celebrating 10 years as a cancer survivor, overcoming incredible odds in beating back pancreatic cancer with the help of his faith, family and friends. He shares his story with us:
"On
Jan. 29, 2013, I was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in the head of my
pancreas. I was extremely lucky because the tumor, which was 3.25 centimeters
in diameter, cut off my bile duct causing me to become jaundiced. I was luckier
still, because MedStar St. Mary’s sent me immediately to the Washington
Hospital Center for care. On Feb. 8, 2013, I had a trial surgery, combining
the Whipple Procedure to remove the tumor and a warm chemo bath. The chemo bath
involved circulating the chemo through the open abdomen after surgery to
eliminate any tumor cells that may have been dislodged in surgery. Again, my
luck held in that the cancer had not spread beyond the pancreas and bile duct.
I was told I had a 10-percent chance of surviving surgery and if I survived
that, I had a less than 10-percent chance of surviving five years. At the time, I
said I was going to beat this with the assistance of faith, family and friends," he said.
"In
late March 2013, I started a six-month trial chemotherapy regimen in which the
chemo was infused directly to my abdomen three weeks a month with one week
“recovery” time each month. During this time, the Sheriff’s Office permitted me
to work light duty in the Security Operations Center in the courthouse four
days per week. I lost all my hair and went from 235 lbs to 170 lbs. During this
time, my squad (Jack Curtis, Nino Palermo, Ken Yekstat, Dave Koenig, Bill Gray,
Skip Stewart and Tim Butler) was integral to
my recovery. They kept me laughing, instead of dwelling on my cancer. They kept
me fed when I didn’t feel like eating. They kept me 'doing the stairs' when the
last thing I wanted to do was walk the stairs! Many friends helped and my
family was indispensable, but these guys went above and beyond, proving that
this job is truly a brotherhood," he said.
"In
November 2018, it was discovered that the pancreatic cancer had returned in my
liver. Amazingly, it was operable and was surgically removed with no other
cancer being evident. However, complications from the surgery led to five months
of recurrent infections in which I almost died from sepsis in February of 2019.
During that time, my squad was always checking on me. I then returned on light
duty for a couple of months before coming back to full duty. Again, I had lost
weight down to 170 pounds. Again, my squad went about making sure that I ate,
that I walked and that I laughed. I cannot say enough about the power of
laughter to a cancer survivor," he said.
"Four
years later, I am celebrating 10 years as a Pancreatic Cancer survivor, which
statistically is a 1-percent chance. I am truly blessed to have
survived. I am also truly blessed to have been part of a squad that has shown
through their actions that they believe in my survival motto: Faith, family and friends," he said.
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| Courthouse security team then |
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| Courthouse security team now |
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