PANCREATIC CANCER

Yes. You CAN survive pancreatic cancer. That I should feel good and look good is still a mystery to some. Pancreatic cancer is generally fatal. Last year there were 37,680 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. There were 34,290 people who died of the disease. Five percent are still alive after three months of the diagnosis. Complete remission is extremely rare. The staggering mortality rate makes pancreatic cancer one of the most common causes of cancer death.

There are two main reasons for pancreatic cancer's poor prognosis. First, it is an exceedingly difficult cancer to diagnose. By the time symptoms begin to appear - such as jaundice, pain in the abdomen or middle back, weight loss, digestive problems or a swollen gallbladder - the cancer is usually well advanced. In fact, about 85% of patients have metastatic disease at the time of the diagnosis.

Second, progress in treating pancreatic cancer has been exceedingly slow. In terms of research funding, pancreatic cancer has not kept pace with other cancers. One reason is that there are few survivors to champion the cause.

Of all patients with the cancer, just 15% of them are even candidates for surgery because most has become metastatic disease.

Some names that you will recognize who have had the disease include Randy Pausch, who spent the last days preparing and delivering the famous, "The Last Lecture." Luciana Pavarotti passed away three months after the diagnosis and Michael Landon died less than three months after his Whipple operation, One of my hero's, Steve Jobs, fought a valiant but losing battle against the disease.Patric Swayze did not make it. Ruth Bader Ginsberg of the Supreme Court is now fighting the fight.

The Whipple operation is the prime procedure to treat the cancer. In the early days of the Whipple, the mortality rate was very high. Up to 25% of patients died from the surgery - not from the cancer - but from the surgery. The experiences of the 1970's and 1980's is still remembered by some physicians who are reluctant to recommend the Whipple operation.

The Whipple operation saved my life. I was diagnosed early by a wonderful gastroenterologist and had a most able surgeon who is recognized for his great technical skill.

People tell me how lucky I am to have survived this terrible disease. I respond by saying, "I'm not lucky, I'm blessed." I truly am!!.

AGE IN AN INTERESTING THING.

Age in an interesting thing. Only children use fractions to tell their age. "I'm four and a half." You're never twenty three and a half or thirty six and a half.

You get to your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm going to be 16!" ... You could be 13, but hey, you're going to be 16. And then, the greatest day of your life.... you BECOME 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. You BECOME 21! YESSS!

But then you TURN 30. Ooooh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED! We had to throw him out. There's no fun now, What's changing?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait. You MAKE it to 60. and you didn't think you would.

So, you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-to-day thing. You HIT Wednesday.

You get into your 80's, and every day is a complete cycle; you Hit lunch; you TURN 4:30;

You REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into your 90's you start going backwards. "I'm just 92."

Then a strange thing happens. You make it over 100; you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half."