JAY – Cancer victim Stephen Botka has outlived one doctor’s projection and plans to beat another because, “I’ve got too many things to do before I die,” he says.

Friends of the 58-year-old Chesterville man are holding a benefit supper and dance for him from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the VFW in Jay.

Botka learned the day after Christmas that he has stage four pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver. His doctor told him he had two to three months to live.

“I couldn’t really believe it,” the Livermore native said. “It was a shocking revelation. It is just something that is hard to believe because you just think things like this don’t happen to you or somebody you know.”

A second doctor’s projection gave him less than a year to live, but Botka has other ideas.

“I am planning on making it. I’ve got too many things to do before I die,” he said as he wiped his eyes. “I’m really not scared to die. I just want to see my grandchildren. … I want to play some golf. I want to ride my motorcycle. I want to ski next year.”

The millwright at Wausau Paper in Jay and owner of Foss Jewelry in Livermore Falls thought he was in good shape. He was active and adhered to regular checkups.

But when he had not felt good for a while, tests were done to find the reason. The week before Christmas, his legs started to hurt and began to swell, leading to the discovery of pancreatic cancer and a treatment plan.

“I’m trying to stay active without getting overly tired,” Botka said. “It’s kind of turned into a one-day-at-a-time thing. Every day is a good day.”

A CAT scan in March showed the cancer is the same.

“I was upset it hadn’t gone away,” Botka said.

Another scan is scheduled for April 30.

“There has got to be something someplace to help this. Not for me but for other people. Not that I don’t want to be helped,” Botka said. “There’s a cure someplace that they’re working on right now. It might be six months. It might be a year from now. There’s something that can be done.”

“I wish there was an easier way to detect stuff like that,” Petrah Jacques, a friend of Botka’s daughter, Katy Quirrion, said as she and Botka talked Wednesday. She is one of those helping Botka and his family, including by working to organize the benefit dinner and dance.

For now, Botka is keeping a positive attitude and taking care of himself.

“If I could beat this for five years, I would feel very fortunate,” he said. “That’s how I’m going to approach it.”