39
results found
Survivor
Survivor Story: Francis Flatau
I am a SURVIVOR. I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007 and underwent surgery and chemo and radiation. I am now cancer free. I play tennis as much as I can; sometimes as many as eight or ten times a week in the summer. I walk three miles a day four or five days a week and go to the gym to work with a trainer three times a week. I am looking forward to my 75th birthday this summer. Last summer I participated in the National Senior Olympics and hope to qualify again in my state games this fall.
Survivor Story: Donnie Burns
My life dramatically changed on January 10, 2005, when I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I was a 68-year-old non-smoker, non-drinker. I was also very active, running an average of 30 miles a week. Knowing so little about this type of cancer, my family encouraged me to go to a larger teaching hospital to have a procedure call the Whipple. The surgery was a success! My doctors contributed my remarkable recovery to my active lifestyle, which was definitely an asset. Pancreatic cancer is not an easy diagnosis to live with. As of January 10, 2010, I...
Survivor Story: Earlene Jornt-Girman
In 1994, sixteen years ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. That November, I had an eight and a half-hour surgery. My surgeon was so elated that he pushed me into ICU himself, talking to me all the way as I tried to awaken. I shall never forget the words: “Hurry and wake up, there has been a miracle!” For the next month, I recall the many professionals, my dear family, my support groups back home praying – and their emotional outbursts when I finally returned to the schools I had developed over the last 40 years. I learned the fullness...
Survivor Story: Marcie Reber
My name is Marcie and I am a nine-year survivor of a rare type of pancreatic cancer called neuroendocrine, or islet cell, carcinoma. Because its treatment options are vastly different than those for the most common pancreatic cancer, adenocarcinoma, I am sharing my story to help others with a rare diagnosis through their journey. I am an operating room nurse and have always enjoyed taking care of patients. It was not until I became sick that I truly understood the fear and loneliness one feels when faced with a cancer diagnosis. At the age...
Survivor Story: Deborah Veney
I am a pancreatic cancer survivor and I am celebrating being three-and-a-half years cancer free! My journey began on April 24, 2006. I had been having intermittent, annoying pain on my left side that I thought resulted from exercising, maybe a pulled muscle, and some fried chicken which I don't normally eat. The combination of the two caused quite a bit of pain one evening. I called my doctor and he suggested I go to the emergency room. After extensive testing, I was told that I had a "suspicious lesion" on my pancreas and I should see a surgeon after release...
Survivor Story: Scott Nelson
When I turned 50 in 2004, I decided it was time to start doing a better job of monitoring my health. Up until that point, I had rarely seen a doctor and had never been in a hospital. Among other things, I started working with my doctor to find the right prescription medication to reduce my cholesterol. This included quarterly blood tests. In between two of my quarterly tests, I felt slightly sick to my stomach for an extended period of time. I moved up my next test and went in to see my doctor. He saw an unusual blood test result and sent me for an...
Survivor Story: Jennifer Peelman
Two years ago, my life abruptly stopped when a visit to the ER for suspected food poisoning resulted in a week long hospital visit because a tumor was found on my pancreas. I had been working in oncology research for five years at that point and was fortunate enough to be able to have a trusted colleague and friend become my own personal oncologist. I was diagnosed with a rare neuroendocrine tumor and surgery was the only option for me. I had surgery in December 2007 to remove half of my pancreas and all of the local lymph nodes. My...
Survivor Story: Emma Lamphear
In October 2005, I received one of the largest shocks of my life. I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer! The pancreas is an organ I had heard of, but I had no clue of its location or its function, much less that it can harbor cancer. Now, here I am – a three-plus year survivor of the Whipple surgery! My personal doctor had the misfortune of losing her mother to pancreatic cancer within a year after her diagnosis. Had there been as much research over the past 30 years as breast cancer, there might have been an early detection method that would have...
Survivor Story: Brian Pochel
I was 38 years old when I was diagnosed with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. My wife, Sheryl, and I have four kids. Our oldest had just turned six that month and our youngest was ten months old. I was told, "A year, probably not two" for my survival. We were told the chances of me making it to surgery were slim, because my tumor was completely wrapped around my portal vein, superior mesenteric vein and over 50% around my superior mesenteric artery. We were devastated. It took eight months of therapy, but I made it to the Whipple. At the time of my...
Survivor Story: Tyler Noesen
When I was 25 years old, I was working hard and trying to live life to the fullest. I had recently been promoted at work and between 60 hour work weeks, my girlfriend, now wife, and I would get out of town every chance we could. Everything was going to plan, my life was playing out just how I had...
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