Sebastian

 

My Story is about This story is about me

This event took place from 09/05/2023 to 11/20/2025

The Discovery

I went to the doctors because of a pressure feeling in the left abdomen.

This is My Story

This article may save your life, the life of someone you love or can become a guide for your daily life. The three principles I will elaborate a little bit in the next lines at least saved my life – for now.
Today (20th of November 2025) is “World Pancreatic Cancer Day” and I was diagnosed of pancreatic cancer in summer 2023. I want to share my story, my learnings and the three major principles that I extracted, and which developed to governing principles for my life over the past two years. I hope they can be of value for you as well.

ATTention
Two years ago, I felt a strange pressure in my left abdomen, and I thought to myself: “O.k., you gave everything during this dragon boat race with your team”! But this did not go away after four weeks, and I went to my doctors. It took some ultrasonic tests, MRT and CT to discover a tissue that does not belong there. Two weeks later I was in surgery, and they removed a malignant tumor the size of an orange at the pancreas – luckily just at the tail. And luckily, I paid ATTENTION and went to the doctors, because two or four weeks later it could have been over as it started to spread out already. That leads me to the second principle.

ATTitude
Some might fall apart with such a diagnosis – and sadly I saw some falling apart in the past months. Thinking positive sounds trivial, but it is hard to take into consideration what you can lose…your life, your family, everything. As far as we know, we just have this one life so it is worth fighting for it and having a positive mindset that one can overcome this burden is essential. Your ATTITUDE is key for success and believing in yourself, accepting the situation and working on the solution is a way forward – step by step. The nurses in the cancer center said many times, that they saw so many people fading away like a flower in the desert, when they did not show up with the right ATTITUDE. But a fight needs a purpose and dedication.

ATTack
Taking action is not enough. Deciding not to do anything is an action as well. Considering the situation and drawing consequences leads to a forceful, courageous, dedicated, persistent and passionate decision. Fight and ATTACK the cancer. Attack does not mean violently, reckless or hasty. You have a target – you have to go for it until you reach it. I had a long surgery, have been on intense care and I took 12 rounds of 3-day Chemo sessions for about half a year. I knew it will be hardest time for my family and for me we have ever been through so far, but we had a common goal – life!

These three ATT´s came to my mind over the past months when I reviewed the past two years and when I talked to my family and friends. I distilled ATTENTION, ATTITUDE and ATTACK for me as basic principles of life and the more I thought about this, the more it turned out that this triplet is transferable to all aspects in life. It does not have to be a fight against cancer or another disease.
– Pay ATTENTION to yourself, your partner and your environment, be curious and attentive.
– Develop, know and take care of your values, live your ATTITUDE and be consistent.
– Be courageous and fight engaged for your goals and go in ATTACK-mode – do not be reluctant
And remember – all three principles have to be balanced and taken into consideration.
If there is one thing to remember from my lines: ATT³
So stay safe, healthy and be kind.

The Impact of Time

…everything is written in the story below!