My Story is about Gabriele, my father.

This event took place from 05/26/2022 to 09/14/2022

The Discovery

In the spring 2022 my father started having some discomfort after eating, his general medicine doctor prescribed drugs for irritated esophagus. Nothing changed till 25th of may, when my father the GM doctor suggests to have an ultrasound scan on the abdomen “I suspect you got an aneurism in that area”.
This prompted me to bring my dad in the most important hospital of our area. After a long day of tests, everything was apparently ok and they couldn’t see any signs of aneurism or cancer. Still my father was still suffering in his back, abdomen and stomach. So after further investigations, a huge mass was found in the pancreatic area and the we were told it was impossible to do anything in that hospital. So we arranged a paid appointment in one the most important private hospital of Italy for, we flew to Milan. He was admitted to Ospedale San Raffaele, here they told the bad news: he got a border line pancreatic adenocarcinome in the body and tail, the surgeon told my father he had to undergo chemotherapy and heparin twice a day to control a huge blood cloth in the liver blood vessel.

This is My Story

My and my brother moved back to our parents house to help our father and our mother, both shocked by the diagnosis.
Gabriele started having unbearable pain, so the specialist suggested a procedure called “Celiac Plexus Neurolysis”. The situation kinda improved but we had to wait a month for him to start chemotherapy. So in meantime his stage 3 pancreatic cancer started to increase in volume (over 8 cm) and all the principal blood vessels were reached.

My father legs and feet started to swell up a lot, at the point he was able to walk with great difficulty, we tried with drugs and drainages. His conditions started to deteriorate very fast, he was unable to eat and drink and lost weight, we booked a paid appointment with a doctor who prescribed some special drinks suitable for pancreatic patients, he improved and started gaining his weight. He was always cheerful and wanted to have walks on the wheelchair every evening with us.
The last chemotherapy session was the beginning of the end.
According to his blood test (we knew that lately in the day in the Emergency room,), my father wasn’t eligible for the treatment that day, but somehow the doctor decided to administer it. In the evening my dad started to feel freezing cold and to breath with great difficulty.
In the ER we were told my father got sepsis and there wasn’t a single free bed to admit him in the hospital.
We bring him back home, frail in the body and the spirit. He survived 2 weeks on antibiotics, the situation was dramatic. He was admitted in the hospice were he passed away the 14th of September, with no pain, surrounded by us, his family, and the precious cares of nurses and doctors.

The pancreatic cancer transformed a healthy and sporty 69years old man to a frail creature in no time, he survived 3 months and half after diagnosis, also because in our area we don’t have a pancreatic unit and wasn’t able to fly to Milan, or Verona.
The hardest point was when an oncologist from our local hospital told us “We don’t cure pancreatic tumors here, we can only help the patients with some palliative care”.
From our point of view, everything can change for patients and families with the creation of pancreatic units, there’s only a couple of places in Italy and they can’t absorb the whole number of patients. There’s still a lot to do in this fight, we know very well, but the meantime patients and their families are suffering greatly because of the lack of support.

The Impact of Time

An early detection would have changed everything for Gabriele, but it was just impossible. Some weeks prior covid19 began to spread Italy in 2020, my father went to an endocrinologist after his blood test showed something abnormal. The endocrinologist suspected hyperglycemia and asked my father to have a more specific blood test, he got the results on march 2020, the country was then on national lockdown. The doctor never answered our phone calls, emails, messages. 2020, 2021 and part of 2022 where very difficult for healthcare in our country, with Hospitals and clinics almost closed to the people. It resulted impossible to get an appointment till June 2022.

My Story is about My mom, Joy Greisman Bonn

This event took place from to 05/06/2020

The Discovery

My mom was having discomfort and it didn’t feel like gastro problems so she was concerned so she went to the doctor.

This is My Story

My mother was my best friend. My dad, my brother, sister in law and her two sisters and five grandchildren- Jacob, Jordan, Peri, Harley and Dani were the light of her life. When she knew she would die, she always said she had a good life and grateful for her wonderful family. She was the matriarch of our family. She was my anchor and life has just not been the same. She was a true JOY to all!

The Impact of Time

The last few months with my mom were spent with family surrounding her. We would lay in bed together and have conversations we never had. I was able to hear what she wanted for her family once she passed.

I was able to be there and hold her hand when she passed.

My Story is about My Mum, Maureen

This event took place from to

The Discovery

In hindsight, Mum had been experiencing symptoms for a few months. Her symptoms included indigestion, bloating and a sore back.
It wasn’t until her doctor was concerned about her overdosing on pain medication that she was sent to the hospital for scans.

This is My Story

There is little to no history of cancer on Mum’s side of the family and certainly no history of pancreatic cancer.

The thing I still struggle to this day, is how fast the cancer took her away from us and how cruel the disease is. The pain levels Mum experienced were so intense, to the point she didn’t want to be around anymore and was approved for voluntary assisted dying (legal in Canada). My understanding was that she was waiting to reach her 60th Birthday in September. Time wasnt on her side though and she passed away in August.

The Impact of Time

Mum didn’t get a lot of time, she had 5 months between being diagnosed until she passed away – April 2020 to August 2020. She was living in Canada at the time and once my brother and I knew she was running out of time we jumped on a plane (from Australia) to be with her – not an easy task in the middle of a pandemic with border closures. In fact, it was 2 years ago to the day, 31 May.

After completing 2 weeks quarantine in Canada, Mum was released from the hospital so we could care for her at home, with the help of family, home care nurses and doctors. I got 3 weeks with Mum before I had to return to my young family in Australia, and complete 2 weeks hotel quarantine. My brother stayed on until Mum passed (1 month after I left). My Mum and my brother were incredibly brave.

My Story is about my Mum.

This event took place from 31 October 2019 to 16 September 2021

The Discovery

It was discovered by chance. My mum returned from a holiday complaining about an upset stomach and itchy skin. She blamed the food the was eating on her trip and the new bedding she was sleeping in. A few days later, a family friend who is also working in the medical field, looked at my mums eyes and said ‘you don’t look good, you should see a doctor’. A day later she was seeing her GP who found something suspicious in an ultrasound. She was referred to the local hospital and was diagnosed with jaundice, caused by pancreatic cancer.

This is My Story

I am upset that so many people can’t see their loved ones in need due to COVID restrictions all over the world. It was hard for me in 2020 and early 2021 and I was one of the lucky ones that was given the gift of spending time with my mum, who sadly passed away on the 16th of September 2021, just 2.5 months shy of her 69th birthday. I love my mum and I miss her dearly.

For my mum I shaved my hair last year during pancreatic cancer awareness month. I raised $2500. At her funeral we raised another 2500 Euro.

The Impact of Time

Time is the most important. My mum had surgery to free her bile ducts and started chemo soon after. I was able to visit her over Christmas 2019 (just before the world faced this new pandemic called COVID). She was going strong for quite sometime; the chemo was doing its job and my mum was keeping fit, occupied and healthy. She still had some goals, some of which she couldn’t experience due to COVID restrictions. 2020 went by with my mum going about her fortnightly routine of chemo. 2021 she started to struggle, lost more weight, had more side effects from the chemo – started to lose hope. I made an effort to apply for a travel exemption, which allowed me to see her in July 2021. My return flights were cancelled and I had to stay until October. What a blessing it was. My mum deteriorated very quickly in that time. She suffered from jaundice again and the cancer was pressing on her intestines. I was there for her in the time she needed me most. Yes, time was everything and also the timing of things. She managed to live 22 months with her diagnosis of Stage IV inoperable pancreatic cancer. She lived her life with this diagnosis, endured rounds and rounds of chemo and still left the hospital smiling. I am grateful my mum had the time she had; I wished COVID didn’t make it so hard, but she made the best of the time she had. She put plans in place for her end of life care and funeral, which eased the burden on us as a family. Of course, I still wish we had more time. Early detection is so important and can change the time we can spent with our loved ones.

My Story is about my Barbara Rychter

This event took place from 13 October 2018 to 24 September 2019

The Discovery

My mother felt ill with symptoms similar to an ulcer which quickly progressed to hospitalization (within weeks) and then a biopsy of some “sludge” clogging a bile duct was proved to be pancreatic cancer.

This is My Story

This happened within a matter of weeks. No one would have ever guessed it was coming and suddenly our whole world changed. We lost my wonderful mother only 11 months after her diagnosis.

The Impact of Time

Everything is so fast! Symptoms to diagnosis to terminal. It all slips away so quickly. Time is absolutely a gift and what we all wouldn’t do for just one more moment with our loved ones.

Pancreatic Cancer needs urgent attention!