92
results found
Survivors
Survivor Story: Ted Griggs
I had the perfect life. I had a huge celebration because I was turning 40. I was blessed with a wonderful wife and two beautiful daughters that made me so proud. However, that perfect life was about to change. The doctor said I had bladder cancer. I believed that if I did everything that the doctors instructed me to do I would beat the cancer. I did as I was instructed and after one surgery and three and a half years of treatment the cancer was gone. But four days from my last treatment for bladder cancer my body was doing things it had never...
Survivor Story: Howard Young
I have been blessed to still be alive. I was first diagnosed with pancreas cancer on December 19, 2002 at the age of 42. I had a recurrence in my left lung on July 14, 2008. I originally benefitted from the Whipple procedure and a combination chemotherapy treatment. After my recurrence, I took advantage of a Phase I clinical trial testing a combination of two chemotherapy drugs to combat my stage IV pancreas cancer. This treatment worked for me as it eliminated all of the remaining cancer nodules in my lung. This trial now represents one of the...
Survivor Story: Kevin Bishop
I was diagnosed in December 2010 with pancreatic cancer. I later found out the cancer had metastasized to my liver and was stage IV. After radiation and several rounds of chemotherapy, which included a combination of four drugs, my tumor marker went down from 17,000 to 9 and my cancer went into remission for five months. My tumor marker began to rise once more and I started taking chemotherapy again, this time a different combination of two drugs. My tumor marker is now down to 7 again.I have to say that I know that this...
Survivor Story: Fran Coredig
I was having back pain and complained to my doctor about it on a regular visit. Because a year and a half before I had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and had both breasts removed, he was taking no chances and ordered a CT scan. It was late in the day when I went for the scan. After doing the scan, the technician started to speak to me about whether I have had cancer before. This should have been my first clue. After the scan I was told to wait in the waiting area - "my second clue."I was the last patient in...
Survivor Story: Jayme Kowalski
First of all I want to give thanks to my family. Without their support, I would not have had the will to fight and live. My name is Jayme Kowalski and in 1992 I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I had the Whipple procedure, which took 6 hours longer than expected. Surgery didn't scare me, but I was scared for my 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter not having their dad.After the surgery, I received weeks of chemotherapy and radiation. I was young and I had no money, so I had to stay with my brother and sister. Slowly...
Survivor Story: Mick Spane
It started with a severe stomach ache in August 2008 that hurt through to the back. I was 58 years old. I went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Further testing revealed that it was neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer with metastasis to the liver. The tumors were non-functioning, not causing any side effects except severe stomach aches every year or so.I went to a local oncologist who was unfamiliar with this type of cancer. He referred me to a high volume hospital for pancreatic cancer in Seattle...
Survivor Story: Brint Perera
I had been having infrequent bouts of severe abdominal pain (roughly once or twice each year) over a period of four years. The pain would resolve itself in 24-48 hours, and I always attributed it to something I had eaten. I had had a colonoscopy/endoscopy, and annual physicals, but they did not reveal anything out of the ordinary. In July 2012, after having an additional episode of abdominal pain only a few weeks after having a previous one, my family convinced me to go seek medical attention for the pain.A CT scan revealed...
Survivor Story: Clinical Trial Participant – Michael Lippe
I should not be here. I was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in December 2007. It had already spread to my liver, which resembled a piece of raisin bread. Through a series of fortunate circumstances, I was able to begin chemotherapy treatment almost immediately. I was 64 and I did not expect to live very long. My oncologist, a pancreatic cancer specialist at a high volume hospital for pancreatic cancer, and my wife, Elizabeth Bellamy, have been the architects and my companions on this improbable five year journey.My...
Survivor Story: Clinical Trial Participant – Mike Stuckel
I was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer that had spread to my omentum. We were devastated when we learned surgery was not an option and there were very few avenues to take. We were lucky enough to be put in touch with a doctor who specializes in pancreatic cancer at a high volume hospital for pancreatic cancer in Seattle, WA.My doctor placed me on a clinical trial in February 2012. Being given a three to six month life expectancy was very hard to swallow. Thanks to my doctor, his staff and the clinical trial, I am happy...
Survivor Story: Jacqueline Blake
I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2010. I had never been sick and didn’t have any symptoms of this disease at all. On October 5, 2010 I went to work. While preparing for a break, I went out to my car to get a few bottles of water. While doing this I passed out and when I woke up, my blood sugar was 21. I was rushed to the emergency room at the hospital near my work. After numerous tests, I was admitted. More tests were performed during the week. Doctors found a tumor on my pancreas which had spread to my liver. The doctors...
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