My dad was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer in January of 2009. The tumor was seven centimeters on his pancreas and surrounded his SMA artery. He was complaining of pain in his stomach for more than a year, and his doctors were not able to diagnose the problem. During that time he started looking at WebMD, a medical web site. Based on what he found, he thought he had pancreatic cancer and told his doctors. His doctors told him, “pancreatic cancer is an old man’s disease; it’s highly unlikely that you have it at such a young age.” At the time, my dad was 48.
After many months of misdiagnosis, he finally had the right blood test in October of 2008. My dad was so frustrated at that point that he never followed up with the doctor. After literally waiting 4 months for the results, the doctor called him and informed him of what he already knew. One Year! A cancerous tumor on his pancreas had been growing for a year. Miraculously, it hadn’t spread anywhere else.
At that point he began interviewing doctors for surgery. He was told that he was inoperable. One doctor said to him, “I am sorry to tell you that you are inoperable and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are lying.” He went to more than three hospitals where he heard the same thing over and over. But he didn’t give up. He kept fighting, hoping for a chance that one hospital would help him. Finally, he found one. Columbia Presbyterian in upper Manhattan agreed to perform surgery if the chemotherapy worked.
He started chemotherapy in February of 2009. His body reacted incredibly well to it, and though he was tired and weak from chemo, his resilience and strong mind kept him going. My dad maintained a positive attitude throughout. Finally, in October of 2009, they agreed to operate. The surgical team rerouted his SMA artery and took out part of his small intestine. The surgery went very well, and the doctors found no traces of cancer left after it. My family was ecstatic. His strong will and positive attitude had finally paid off. After more than two years it was finally over.
However, it was not meant to be. In September of 2010, his cancer came back. We were devastated. How could this have happened? This time around he had more complications. He developed headaches, cold sweats, and mouth sores from the chemotherapy. In March of 2011, he developed an abscess that wouldn’t go away because his immune system was weakened by the chemo. In May 2011, he was diagnosed with E. coli, and had to get a pick line in his arm to give himself intravenous antibiotics. He was in and out of the hospital every other week. Then, to try and drain the abscess, a stint was placed in his liver but it didn’t work, and had to be removed. In July, they found he had another abscess between his bladder and colon. In August, he had an intestinal blockage, and it turned out he had a parasite. In September, after he got rid of the parasite, he was put back on chemo. The following month, he developed a cyst, and had to get it drained. He also developed intestinal swelling, which wouldn’t go away because of the chemo. There was literally one problem after another.
In January of 2008 my dad weighed 235 pounds; 4 years and 5 months later, he weighs 130 pounds. That’s only five pounds more than me and I’m only fourteen. My dad is much weaker than he used to be, with much less energy, and there is one problem after the next. For all intents and purposes, he shouldn’t be alive. And yet he is. Against all odds, he has survived.
From the time of diagnosis, the average pancreatic cancer patient lives 3-6 months. He has made it more than three years from diagnosis. My dad has an incredible will to keep going and to keep fighting. No matter how many problems he deals with, and no matter how sad it is, whether it’s the cancer, or other infections, he maintains a positive attitude. He loves his life and his family, and doesn’t want to give up.
He has set up a pancreatic cancer fund at Columbia to help others and has taught me many incredibly important lessons. Though it sounds cliché, I have seen it firsthand, in front of my eyes, for my entire teen-hood. No matter how hard life gets, and no matter how many problems you have, do not ever, ever give up. My dad is an incredible inspiration to me and should be to us all.