BATTLING
PANCREATIC CANCER
The struggles, strategies, and ups & downs of a fighting patient
My story of battling Pancreatic cancer
Hi, my name is Andrea. I'm 48 years old, I live in London with my wife and three children, and in February 2019 I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers and is typically diagnosed after it has already spread to other organs - in my case the liver, where the doctors found more than 20 metastases. Statistics on survival in these situations are dramatic and, indeed, after receiving my diagnosis I felt that part of me immediately died and that whatever was left of my life would soon be over.
However, during the following days and weeks, I somehow found the energy and motivation to try and battle my illness. More than one and a half years later, I am still here, feeling in relatively good shape and having regained many of the aspects of my life that I considered lost forever when I was diagnosed.
In some way, I feel like I am reborn again.
I will share my entire experience with you
From the moment of the initial diagnosis, to the harsh chemotherapy treatment which, after 6 months, miraculously allowed me to have surgery (seen as a virtual impossibility at the outset) and to my current situation of insecurity regarding the future. Will the metastases that started to reappear a few months ago keep coming back? Will the additional therapies I have been testing (e.g. cancer vaccines, ablation of metastases and the so-called metabolic approach) allow me to take a break from chemotherapy (and, ideally stop it altogether)?
I will discuss the various strategies that I have adopted to stay on top of the side-effects of chemotherapy and the coping mechanisms I have experimented with in order to deal with the stress and huge uncertainties associated with every step of the illness.
My hope is that my story will help other pancreatic cancer patients not to give up and to find the mental and physical strength to fight this terrible disease. I will not pretend that this was easy for me: a lot of discipline was required and pushing my body when it was at its weakest was very tough.
Nor will I pretend that I found the best way to deal with the illness. The way I approached it may have worked for me but it may not be suitable for others for a variety of reasons. However, if my experience will inspire others to try and find their own individual way to battle this horrible cancer, then I will have succeeded.
The blog is organised in three parts.
1
The first one is about the day I was diagnosed. I describe my initial reactions and thoughts that came into my mind as the doctor delivered the terrible news. I also deal with the very difficult choice my wife and I faced on how to communicate such news to our children.
2
The second part briefly describes my life before diagnosis. The aim here is to let you know a bit more about myself as well as some of the life events that influenced the way in which I have reacted to the illness and certain decisions I have made on how to approach it.
3
The third part is the most important one: it deals with my life after the day of diagnosis. This is where I describe the choice of my oncologist, the various stages that followed (chemotherapy, surgery and chemotherapy again), and the mental and physical struggles I faced and continue to face.
I sincerely hope that you will find the blog useful. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any suggestions or questions about any of the topics covered. In the meantime, I will keep updating the blog as events unfold!
Andrea
