Facing pancreatic cancer and the Whipple procedure head on

2013年5月23日，我被诊断出胰腺癌。接下来的一周，我和丈夫来到MD安德森我的第一次约会。

我的朋友，医生，曾建议我在MD安德森寻求治疗，如果我需要一个惠普尔过程中，使用一个高难度手术治疗胰腺癌。I didn't yet know if I needed a Whipple procedure. But I didn't want to waste any time or look back with any regrets.

Plotting my attack against my pancreatic cancer
During my first appointment at MD Anderson, my amazing surgeon,Matthew Katz, M.D., told me that I would be dead in a year if I did nothing.

我想活下去，所以我要求我的医生扔掉他们的一切我。胰腺癌具有很高的复发率，而且我不想让癌症扩散或回来。

我的医疗团队决定我最好的选择是一个新的胰腺癌的临床试验。我报名参加的第一人。

我的胰腺癌treatment: Chemo, radiation and the Whipple procedure.

The trial started with eight weeks of FOLFIRINOX, a chemotherapy regimen for advanced pancreatic cancer. Then, I underwent six more weeks of chemo with radiation.

After that, it was time for the Whipple procedure. During the surgery, they removed part of my pancreas, half my stomach, my small intestine, 28 lymph nodes and my portal vein. I went to the hospital for the Whipple procedure at 5 a.m. The surgery was finished about 11 hours later. By 2:00 a.m. the next morning, I was resting comfortably in the Intermediate Care ward.

Afterwards, I was moved to MD Anderson's Whipple ward, where I stayed for a week. Gradually, I regained my appetite. I started with clear liquids. By day three, I was eating soft food. By discharge one week after surgery, I began an eight-week fat-free, sugar-free, fiber-free diet.

有一次，我从惠普尔程序恢复，我做了化疗的两个多月了一个名为健择药物。

Staying strong during my pancreatic cancer battle
我的诊断后，我已经辞掉工作，从我所有的常规活动的撤回。但我很快意识到我需要我的正常活动和义务帮我觉得正常，我的头脑保持关闭的癌症。

当癌症是在我的脑海里，我的应对它的思想为战争。在我的脑海里，化疗的滴下来的IV线是玩具士兵来打我的癌症。- 硬核，谁拯救了世界地球战士的盐史蒂夫·麦奎因，约翰·韦恩，克林特·伊斯特伍德，欧内斯特·博格宁：这些战士，我想象中，被从二战电影演员扮演。将军负责部署的是乔治·克鲁尼（因为他是乔治·克鲁尼）。他们的任务是交会在PICC置管和重走门静脉。我的朋友们甚至送我的绿色玩具兵桶和桶作为鼓励。

惠普尔手术后的生活
一个全新的生活了惠普尔手术后开始给我。我仍然在恢复。有新的挑战每一天，我学习到对付我的新常态。

下面我手术，我已经经历了骨质疏松，甲状腺替代治疗，以及大量的牙科工作。在这一点上，我吃一个非常典型的饮食，但我采取了许多补充，以帮助消化我我的食物。我有好和坏日子，但它在对事物的计划一个小小的不便。毕竟，我仍然没有疾病的证据。

I know I'm lucky. That's why I volunteer withmyCancerConnection, MD Anderson's one-on-one support program that connects cancer patients and their caregivers with others who've been there. I share my stories and tell other pancreatic patients that there is hope.

I have always been a positive, "glass half-full" person, but I now cherish every day as a gift. I look at things that used to be problems from a better perspective. I trust in my faith and try not to worry. My doctors say that I'm a miracle, but I know miracles happen every day at MD Anderson.