Living With Pancreatic Cancer: How I Kicked The Crap Out Of It

Introduction

When I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I had no idea what to expect. The doctors told me that this kind of cancer was aggressive and that there were only two ways to treat it: surgery or chemotherapy. Once the tumor was removed from my pancreas, the surgeons were confident that they had gotten all of it; however, until the pathology report came back from their lab, we would not know for sure if any lymph nodes were involved. That wait seemed like an eternity.

The two-month wait to get the final results from my biopsy seemed like an eternity.

I was scared, frustrated, and angry. How could a simple routine check-up result in an outcome that changed my life forever? The two-month wait to get the final results from my biopsy seemed like an eternity. It was stressful and scary. I felt helpless as I tried to prepare myself for what might be coming next; all I knew was that whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good news.

I believe that the only thing that saved me from having to discover and treat cancerous lymph nodes was the Neulasta.

Neulasta is a drug that is used to prevent low blood cell counts in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. It’s a protein that is produced in the body, and it’s injected into your arm (or butt or wherever) to help your body make more white blood cells. For those of you who don’t know what white blood cells are for, let me explain: they’re kind of like Pac-Man—they eat up germs and keep you safe from getting sick. They also play an important role in fighting off infection when you have cancer; if they get too low, then there aren’t enough of them around to fight off infections when they pop up. Luckily I’m no stranger to getting poked with needles so having one more shot didn’t bother me much!

I am lucky that I have a wife who is just as smart as I am, and she is willing to challenge me when she thinks that I am wrong or when she has a better idea than I do.

I am lucky that I have a wife who is just as smart as I am, and she is willing to challenge me when she thinks that I am wrong or when she has a better idea than I do. For example, our first child was born with Down syndrome and we did not know how to handle it at all. We had read many books on Down syndrome, but they were written by experts and authors who had never actually lived with a child with Down syndrome. The only way that we learned how to take care of our son was from watching other parents of children with Down syndrome around us and asking them questions about their experiences.

Before my surgery, all of our friends were very helpful and would send food over, but after surgery things really changed.

When I was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, my friends and family were very helpful. They would send food over, and just hang around to make sure all was well.

After my surgery, things really changed. People were not as available, or interested in helping out as much. While this is understandable to some degree because most people don’t know what it’s like living with pancreatic cancer (and what the recovery process looks like), it’s still disappointing when you need help but people aren’t there for you.

Besides the obvious benefits of exercise, my mind felt so much better when I exercised.

Exercise can also have a beneficial impact on all aspects of your mental health. While it’s true that some people start working out because they are feeling depressed, exercise can actually help you feel better in the long run. People who exercise regularly report less stress and anxiety than those who don’t exercise. Exercise can even help you sleep better at night, which may seem counterintuitive but has been shown to improve one’s mood in the morning!

In addition to improving how you feel emotionally, physical activity has been shown to improve cognitive function as well. A study conducted by researchers at Stanford University found that older adults who participated in moderate intensity aerobic training for 3 months showed improvements in executive function (the ability to make decisions and solve problems), memory recall, motor speed and accuracy. In other words—exercise is good for your brain!

Knowing that a storm is coming helps you prepare for it.

The first thing to understand is that pancreatic cancer is not your average diagnosis. It’s a disease of the pancreas, an organ that produces enzymes crucial for digestion and has no known function outside of digestion. It’s also one of the most deadly forms of cancer; less than 5 percent of people diagnosed with it survive five years after their initial diagnosis (compare this with breast cancer, in which 90 percent are still alive after five years). This puts those who receive a diagnosis in a particularly precarious position: you’re almost certain to die from your disease, but there’s no way to know when or how soon this might happen.

Having said all that: there is hope! I’ve been living with pancreatic cancer for over three years now—and I’m still here. In fact, many patients like me are living longer than doctors ever expected possible when they gave us our prognoses—and many researchers think they know why.

Cancer patients are typically given chemotherapy in cycles of treatment followed by rest, then more treatment and rest again.

Chemotherapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs to kill cancer cells. It’s usually given in cycles of treatment followed by rest, then more treatment and rest again. When chemotherapy is given intravenously (IV), you may receive a combination of drugs through an IV over time or you may receive each drug separately. When chemotherapy is taken orally as pills or capsules, the medication gets into your bloodstream through absorption from the digestive tract.

The side effects and risks associated with chemotherapy depend on which drugs are used and how much of each drug you get. Side effects can range from mild to severe; some patients have no side effects at all while others have many different kinds of unpleasant reactions during their treatments.[1]

Side effects often include nausea, vomiting or diarrhea; fatigue or weakness; loss of appetite; mouth sores/dry mouth; hair loss (in most cases); skin reactions including rash/itching around injection sites; increased risk for infection (depending on where the injection goes); low blood cell count (anemia).

Being able to see your progress and know where you are on the scale can motivate you to continue with your plan.

It’s very important to measure progress. I used the scale and the tape measure regularly, and I learned that it was a good idea to not only weigh myself, but also measure my belly because this was the area in which I could see the most progress.

I began measuring my belly at 6 weeks post-surgery, when my stoma was still healing. At that time, my stomach measured about 36 inches around (80 cm). The first time I measured my tummy fat in August 2011, it had shrunk to 31 inches (79 cm). After that initial measurement of 80% reduction in tummy fat from before surgery until 8 months later when I had lost 117 lbs., things started going downhill again for me healthwise… until December 2011 when all hell broke loose again with another flare-up of pancreatitis!

During these two years there were times when making any kind of progress seemed impossible due to setbacks or relapses from other medical issues (pancreatitis). But looking back now over 5 years since being diagnosed with PCa… well… let’s just say there are no words!

It is important to note here, I think, that of all my friends on this planet only two knew where my death spot was and what it looked like before we had it covered in grass.

One of the things I have learned from this experience is that it is important to note here, I think, that of all my friends on this planet only two knew where my death spot was and what it looked like before we had it covered in grass.

This is a hard thing to talk about; most people don’t know where their death spots are, but everyone should decide what they are going to do if they get sick or injured enough that they can’t move around on their own anymore. They should also write down how much money they want spent on their funeral if they die suddenly because otherwise it will be very difficult for loved ones left behind to make good decisions quickly enough during stressful situations like these.

During these times, my wife would often ask me how long until ‘this’ ended.

One of the hardest things about being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is that you can’t just go to the hospital and get treated. There are no surgeries that remove it, no chemotherapy drugs to treat it and no radiation therapy. So when I was first told I had cancer, I knew there wouldn’t be any instant cures or miracle treatments available.

I found myself in disbelief at first; then anger followed closely behind as my mind raced through all the negative thoughts I could have about what this meant for my future—and even more importantly—for my family’s future.

But during these times, my wife would often ask me how long until “this” ended. And each time she asked this question, it broke me down further than anything else had ever done before because it made me realize just how much work there was left to do––work that only I could do––and that if all those negative thoughts were going through our minds back then (when we both were healthy), imagine how much worse they would get once someone became sick?

If you ever find yourself in a spot like this, don’t be afraid to speak up!

The most important thing is to speak up. Speak up about your feelings, speak up about your needs, speak up about your concerns and goals and dreams. Don’t just sit there thinking “I’m going to die soon” or “Nothing matters anymore” and being too scared to say anything about it or ask for help or try a new treatment option because you’re afraid of disappointing people around you who want so much for things to be okay again someday.

There’s no shame in asking for what you need from the people around you—even if it means asking them questions like:

What can I do?
What should we do together as a family/team/group?
How can we get through this together?

Conclusion

You may have noticed that none of these points are related to cancer treatment at all. I think that this is a very important thing for people to understand: you don’t need to be a doctor or a nurse or even a patient to help someone with their cancer journey. All you need is an open mind and willingness to listen!