Contributor
At the age of 55, I was in perfect health and terrific physical shape. One day I experienced a very sharp, intense lightning bolt of pain throughout my entire body. It only lasted for about five seconds, but it transitioned into a nagging back pain.
I immediately went to see a doctor, but was sent home with diagnoses of gas, and again with a pulled muscle. It wasn’t until a few weeks later when the pain didn’t go away and I began losing weight that I returned to the doctor, insisting on more tests. Ultimately, after an advanced endoscopy and a colonoscopy, did I hear the words that would change my life forever:
“Laurie, you have pancreatic cancer.”
At that point, the pancreatic adenocarcinoma was stage III and had already spread to my duodenum and lymph nodes. After over three years of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries (including the Whipple, which is considered the most complicated abdominal surgery in existence), numerous complications, complex therapies, insurmountable side effects, and too many emergency room visits to count, I was told the treatment was no longer effective and I had three to six months to live.
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