Jodie

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.

 

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Andrea

My Story is about my Abuela.

 

This event took place from 8 May 2016 until 2 December 2016

 

The Discovery

It took about 6 months and it all took place in Mexico. She went back home after a week stay because of her sister, who was once again diagnosed with stomach cancer and won the battle. She lost a lot of weight and strength which is why all her children pushed her to see a doctor. After about 6 months, she was too weak, and maybe 2 or so of her diagnoses were HepB/C because of her jaundice and nothing else was discovered until they got a look at her pancreas. She was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was five about 3 months, if that, to live.

 

This is My Story

The 3 months she was given were cut short. After her diagnosis, maybe a few days after she worsened. She had bike spreading and had to be drained. She was given the option to spend the rest of her time in the hospital or at home. She decided to go home. This gave her and her children to spend time. She had some places, places where she would connect with god, that she wanted to visit. Although extremely tired and needing the help of everyone, she was able to visit most of those places she desired before she passes. After her diagnosis, she was with us for less than a month before she passed on 12/02/2016. She passed away in her sleep, but we do know that at that point all the bad stuff had spread to her brain.

 

The Impact of Time

I know you all have more positive stories, or early detection. Unfortunately for my grandma, she had neither. I hear all these different stories but they all have the best patient care possible because of their country. I believe that if she would have gotten taken care of here in the US that maybe, just maybe, she could have had a little more time.

 

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Cornelia

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.

 

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Mark

My Story is about my Me

 

This event took place from 16 October 2019 until now

 

The Discovery

During a scan before an emergency peratinitus operation.

 

This is My Story

I was diagnosed too late, I guess I had symptoms for at least 18 months before my diagnosis. My cancer was only discovered during an emergency operation. If it hadn’t been discovered I know I wouldn’t be here now. Due to the excellent care of my nurses & doctors who are keeping me alive my tumour is stable but u operable I am able to enjoy my time with family & friends although I am very tired after 46 cycles of chemotherapy. Time to ne is important & making people aware of the symptoms is important.

 

The Impact of Time

Time is a gift, I was diagnosed 2 years ago, I have had 46 cycles of Folfirnox & 6 weeks of radiotherapy & exploration in 2 years. My gift is the treatment is keeping me alive, allowing me with time with my loved ones.

 

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Hedy

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!

 

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Teri

My Story is about my My mother-in-law, Tammy

 

The Discovery

Her cancer was discovered after a few visits to the emergency room for stomach pain. She was originally diagnosed with ulcers, but had a feeling it was something more, so she pushed for more help.

 

This is My Story

My daughter never got the chance to meet her paternal grandmother, so I make sure to make an extra effort to have her know and visit her remaining grandparents and great grandparents. I make sure she knows how much she would have been loved by her grandma, and that she knows stories and things about her. Just because someone is gone doesn’t mean their love and memories are. Wearing purple on World Pancreatic Cancer day is a way we can honor her love and memory together.

 

The Impact of Time

Every time I get frustrated, or short on patience with a loved one I stop and remember how lucky I am that I still have them in my life. I have the constant reminder that life can be very short, and it should be lived as I want to live it, not just sit back and wait for “the perfect time” to do things.

 

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Sherry

My Story is about my Sister & my Aunt

 

This event took place from 17 November 2008 to 7 March 2017

 

The Discovery

My sister was having pain in her stomach and lower back. She had her gallbladder removed first and the pain continued. Then through blood work they decided to do a scope and they found the tumor on her pancreas.

 

This is My Story

My sister was my first encounter with this disease, we had not experienced it before. She was the first person I loss so close to me. I am the baby sister so she spoiled me. She had 2 young girls at the time of her death they were 9 and 4. Her journey with pancreatic cancer was up and down as she went through 10 months of 6 different chemotherapy and one round of radiation filling her surgery to remove 60% of her stomach, majority of her pancreas, spleen and adrenal gland. She fought but in October of 2009 they stopped everything infusion and treatments she made to her birthday on Dec 3 and her daughter’s birthday on Dec 5 and left us the week before Christmas on Dec 17th.

In 2017 when my Aunt started showing symptoms I knew and I had to be there for my cousins.

 

The Impact of Time

With my sister she was only 42, and it happen and we had one full year with her until Dec 17, 2009. My Aunt was much faster she was diagnosed in February and gone in March 2017. Now I value time spent with family and friends, I cherish and embrace it. I make sure I am there in that moment. No time to waste!

Early detection is so important now that myself, my other sister, cousins and my sisters children are doing genetic testing. I have implemented recommendations from my doctor to stay on focus for early detection.

 

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Tiffany

My Story is about My brother, Joshua

 

This event took place from 1 October 2017 to 9 April 2019

 

The Discovery

At age 36, my brother had started experiencing some back pain. He had a history of kidney stones and figured it was another bout of that. Time went on and the pain continued, becoming unbearable at times. He ended up having a biopsy done on his pancreas and they said they weren’t able to get a good sample. He ended up going to the emergency room due to the pain progressing. A scan was done and he was scheduled to see a gastroenterologist at University of Michigan on February 14,2018. Josh went to work that day and got off early for his appointment. My parents and I met Joshua at the medical center. We were all tense and had a bad feeling about this appointment, but tried to remain positive. The dr he had ran about an hour or so late. He came into the room and greeted us. He cut to the chase and told us that Joshua had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The cancer had metastasized to his liver. Joshua said, “ok” and the Dr said, “no…it’s not ok”. We all had tears filling up our eyes as Joshua tried to remain strong for us after hearing this diagnosis. My dad asked the difficult question…what was his prognosis? The Dr said 10 months. He said there was nothing he could do for him besides palliative care.

 

This is My Story

We all went back to Joshua’s house afterwards and talked about where to go from here. That night, he contacted Cancer Treatment Centers of America for a second opinion on treatment options. They set him up with an appointment at their center near Chicago within 10 days. My dad transported him back and forth to the center for treatment and we all tried to remain hopeful. Throughout treatment, his tumors had shrunk some. This seemed promising. Unfortunately, Joshua also had cystic fibrosis and this created additional problems with his health and his ability to tolerate chemo. He eventually decided to obtain oncology care at a local hospital in Lansing, Michigan. As time went on, Joshua was in and out of the hospital. Did chemo as his body tolerated it. He lost a lot of weight off his already thin frame. He became jaundiced. His appetite became less and less. The pain medications he had been taking were no longer working. He became weaker by the day. On 1 April 2019, he told my family and I that he couldn’t do it anymore and needed more help to manage his pain. He decided to go on hospice. The next day, hospice services were set in place at our family’s home where Joshua wanted to stay. He was alert for a couple days, but would become irritable every night. We never left his side during this time. He was no longer eating or drinking. His breathing became rattled. On April 9, 2019, he was hardly communicating with us. He was staring off at the ceiling. We noticed his breathing had changed…his skin appeared bruised on his back and his nails were bluish…we were giving him pain meds every 5-10 minutes to control his pain and irritability. At 6:20pm, my brother passed away surrounded by his loved ones at the age of 37.

Since Joshua passed away, my dad also passed away on January 11, 2021 due to health issues. A big part of it was that he couldn’t handle being without his son. He had no will to fight anymore. RIP to both of them.

I love and miss you both.

 

The Impact of Time

Life is so very short. After losing 2 loved ones in my immediate family in 2.5 years, I’ve realized just how precious life truly is. I try to make the most out of my life because my loved ones that have passed on would love to be here enjoying their lives still.

 

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Anna

My Story is about My mum: Rosa Mari

 

This event took place from 1 November 2019 to 22 December 2019

 

The Discovery

My mum pancreatic cancer was discovered on November 2019. She went to the primary care center for abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with kidney stones and underwent treatment. However, the pain persisted. They took her from one doctor to another, many tests but no clear diagnosis. In the end, he began to have tenths of a fever and then they did a CT scan where they saw a tumor in the ovaries.

The following days, he went to speak with the oncologist and they saw that the cancer was not of the ovaries, but of the pancreas, but that there was metastasis in the ovaries, intestines, and lungs. This diagnosis was devastating.

My mother, on the other hand, accepted it from the first moment. There was no option to do any treatment because it was useless. They gave her 6 months at the most. That same week, a thrombus appeared in her leg and she had to be admitted. A week after being admitted, she died at the age of 55.

To all this, we were very unhappy with the medical care. My mother suffered a loss of weight 2 years ago but they did not do many tests, the least. She also had pancreatitis when she was young. They also did not take it into account when she complained of back pain.

These symptoms are overlooked today. That is why it is so important to raise awareness and inform people about this deadly type of cancer. For my mother it was late, but I hope that in a few years, this will help other people to be saved.

 

This is My Story

When images of her come to me in the hospital, I try to look at this photo and move back to that day. She was so happy watching her favorite music group … I was so happy seeing her happy! I hope one day I can meet you again. I love you mum.

 

The Impact of Time

The value of time is the most important thing. My mum died in a month since it was detected. My sisters and I didn’t have time to accept his illness. The role of early detection in my story was the most important thing. She had the symptoms years ago. If she would have been cared for by trained professionals, perhaps the cancer could have been treated, although it is a very deadly cancer.

From this day, I try to live day per day, but the society is not made for this… I appreciate all the time I spent with my mum, even when she was at the hospital with palliative treatment.

One of the things I said to my mother when she was recently diagnosed was that: “we still have many things to see and experience.” But she knew deep down that it wasn’t going to be like this.

Time is treasure.

 

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Tania

My Story is about Me – Tania

 

This event took place from 12 February 2021 until now.

 

The Discovery

I was initially feeling lethargic and tired, and I wasn’t sleeping properly. When I went to my GP, she assumed I was going through menopause.
Following this, I got severe glandular fever in July 2020 and went back to my GP after I had recovered. I got blood tests done the results came back normal.
In November, I started to feel severe lethargy and shooting pains under my breastbone to the point that I couldn’t finish my workouts at the gym. I stopped going to the gym and I thought my lethargy may have been related to low iron (which is something I had experienced in the past). I also started losing my appetite and losing weight, but I attributed that to stopping my workouts. Initially I did a few sessions of acupuncture but when the pain did not subside, I went back to my GP. When she started talking about menopause again, I insisted that there was something else going on. I got a blood test on 27th November and based on the results, my GP thought I may have had an issue with my gall bladder. I got an ultra sound on 1st December and they found a cyst on my pancreas which raised alarm and I got sent to do an urgent CT scan on 2nd December. I got the call that afternoon with the news that it was a tumour and I was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer — metastised to the liver. I was 44 years old.

 

This is My Story

I’m a big believer that your mindset dictates your behaviour and what you attract into your life. I’m a big fan of Joe Dispenza and his meditations and teachings helped me a lot. I believe mental and emotional health plays a very big part in your healing journey as a cancer patient.
Trusting my gut and listening to my instincts helped me immeasurably. I googled ‘successful pancreatic cancer stories’ often because I wanted to know what others had done to get to remission. This was something I did often and not only did it give me hope, it gave me ideas on what to include to help treat my cancer.
I asked my oncologist not to tell me my prognosis, I believed it wasn’t up to her and that I wasn’t a statistic. I also believed if I carried this information with me, it would be a detriment to my mental health and my recovery.

I attribute a big part of my journey and my healing to my faith. Prayer helped me immensely.

My message of hope for others is to never give up even if you have dire circumstances. Hope is what gives us the power to endure what we think we can’t, to heal. You can defy the odds, you’re not a number or a statistic. Always follow your gut, don’t be afraid to challenge your oncologist and if you’re not happy with how you are being treated get a second or third opinion. Always advocate for yourself, no-one knows you better than you know yourself. Steer your own ship and be open to alternate therapies that can help assist with your treatment and boost your immune system. And lastly, don’t dismiss your mental health, it’s just as important as your physical health.

 

The Impact of Time

Most people are diagnosed at late stage with pancreatic cancer which means time isn’t on your side.. in one instant second, your world is turned upside down
It has been a tough journey for me emotionally especially in the early stages of diagnosis. I had never before had to face my mortality and looking down the barrel of death was pretty scary and traumatic.

I couldn’t understand how I got pancreatic cancer — it wasn’t genetic, and my family has a history of breast cancer, so it didn’t make sense to me. I was living a healthy lifestyle (eating well and doing weights and resistance training 4 times a week as well as trying to walk 10,000 steps a day) and didn’t have any of the typical pancreatic cancer risk factors (I don’t smoke or do drugs, I’m not overweight or obese, I rarely drink alcohol, I don’t have diabetes) and I had never been to hospital or had any major health issues.

Time became a precious resource to me..I vowed to spend quality time with my loved ones when I was able and I wanted to spend my time doing things that brought me joy such as going to the beach, spending time in nature, going on little getaways and creating memories. I feel so blessed to still be here and although my cancer journey isn’t over yet, I now choose to use my time wisely, not sweat the small stuff and let go of control and surrender.

 

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