Four years ago yesterday, on Aug. 20, 2009, I had a grueling 6 ½ hour surgery called a Whipple procedure. I had a tumor in my pancreas, but I’m happy to say that I had the “good kind of pancreatic cancer”. Mine was neuroendocrine, the same kind that killed Steve Jobs, but it did not get me! Here is what WebMD has to say about the Whipple procedure: For some pancreatic patients, a complex surgery known as the Whipple procedure may extend life and could be a potential cure. Those who undergo the Whipple procedure have a five-year survival rate of about 20%. The classic Whipple procedure is named after Allen Whipple, MD, a Columbia University surgeon who was the first American to perform the operation in 1935. Also known as pancreaticoduodenectomy, the Whipple procedure involves removal of the "head" (wide part) of the pancreas next to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). It also involves removal of the duodenum, a portion of the common bile duct, gallbladder and sometimes part of the stomach. Afterwards, surgeons reconnect the remaining intestine, bile duct, and pancreas.
The Mayo Clinic website says: The Whipple procedure is a difficult and demanding operation for both the person undergoing surgery and the surgeon.
If you have read
my blog, you know that that was my 3rd bout with cancer. The first when I was 21, the second at 42 and
this one when I was 53. I’m 57 now,
about to turn 58, and next week I’m heading to the East Coast to attend my 40th
high school reunion. Truly, I never
thought I would get this far!
But, back to this
anniversary - August 20th, 2009.
I often say that I have the worst memory of anyone I know. I blame it on all of the anesthesia I’ve had
(eight surgeries total). But there are
things I remember rather clearly – like the three times I’ve been
diagnosed. Just the words alone hit you
so hard, like being punched in the gut. Just three little words, but they carry
so much weight. ‘You. Have. Cancer.’
I’ve heard those words three times in my life, and I pray that I never
have to hear them again – to me or to anyone I know or love.
So, four years
ago…I spent 23 days in the hospital at Stanford, or “The Spa” as we called it. It’s difficult to describe what it is like to
spend 23 days in a bed, basically, bound to the wall by a series of IV tubes,
spending the better part of most days vomiting.
I had an incisional pain, abdominal pain, pain in my throat and ears
from a naso-gastric tube, hip and back pain…you name the pain….I had it. But
then again, I was on a morphine drip…and so my pain was muted, and there is so
much I don’t remember. I had nothing to eat or drink for 23 days. I wanted to eat so badly. I spent many hours of each day watching the
Food Network. The doctors thought that
by doing so, it would wake up my digestive system, which was totally and
utterly unresponsive to anything.
And
so, that is the condition I was in 4 years ago.
But now, 48 months later, I am a totally different person. I swim 7 days a week, dance, do yoga, work
with a personal trainer, have a busy Wellness Coaching business, and work for
an organization I love called Swim Across America. I’m alive and so, so grateful for each and every
day. My goal in life is to try hard to
enjoy it…and I do! I’m grateful to my
wonderful husband, my two amazing children, my extended family, my network of
friends, my meaningful work, and exercise!
What more can I ask for?
I’m trying to make a difference through
my coaching work and through Swim Across America. If you feel so inspired by reading this blog,
please click on my link and donate. The
money raised goes directly to pediatric cancer treatment and research in the
Bay Area. My goal is to get 36 people on
my team (you can join as a swimmer, kayaker or volunteer), and to raise over
$36,000. I’m so glad you are in my life
and are taking the time to read my story. Thank you so much.
