Dealing with My Mom's Pancreatic Cancer

Cancer is a frightening topic, the National Cancer Institute states that “more women in America have died of [cancer] in the last two decades [than in WW1 and WW2 combined]”. It’s no wonder the word alone can bring anguish to many, there is still much we don’t understand about cancer. It wasn’t until recently that we began to noticed a trend of disease in my family. My grandmother Olga Losoya Suarez passed away in August of 2015 to colon cancer at the age of 75. As one can imagine this was devastating as she was the center of the family, always bringing everyone together on the holidays. Soon disaster struck again as my grandmother on my father’s side, Carolina Tovar, passed from pancreatic cancer in June of 2016 at the age of 71. Although most of the family felt a mixture of emotions, one that dominated the rest was concern. My parents, Aunts, and Uncles concerned that cancer was becoming more prominent in our family sought checkups from their doctors. My Aunt Linda informed

When people think of cancer, many automatically murmur negative things. For example, death, Chemotherapy, hair loss, and other symptoms of feeling fragile. What people do not know is that even though you can see the patient suffering physically, their family is also being affected as well. Being a daughter of a mother with Colon cancer has affected me emotionally, spiritually, and virtually.

Everyone knows the disastrous effects cancer has on a person and their loved ones. Knowing that my mom was misdiagnosed, there could've been a moment when she may have still been here on Earth. During 2005, my mom noticed that something was wrong with her. This realization lead her to go seek a doctor at Lincoln hospital. During her examination, the doctors didn't noticed anything was wrong. After three years she went back again, and Dr. Max Ann examined my mother a second time,but this time he discovered that she had cancer. This

Nearly 14.5 million Americans have had a history stint with some type of cancer and were still alive on January 1, 2014(American Cancer Society, 2016). There will be an estimated 1,685,210 new cancer cases and 595, 590 deaths in 2016 attibuted to caner in the U.S. (American Cancer Society,2016 ) Those astonishing numbers do not even account for the cancer patients family and friends whose lives are also affected this horrific disease. In order to get a glimpse of what a cancer patient has to go though, I decided to read Stuart Scott’s memoir, Every Day I Fight, by Larry Platt. He is an ESPN anchor that was diagnosed with a rare form of Appendiceal Cancer. It was a great book, and wanted to discuss the merits this book had on showing what

My mother was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma, which is cancer in the soft tissue, in the summer of 2014. The cancer started off in her uterus, so the doctors gave her a hysterectomy. The doctors couldn’t detect where exactly the cancer was, so not all of the cancer was removed. Chemotherapy was thought to be the best option, but the wrong kind of medication was used. My family and I had no idea, and I don’t believe that the doctors did either. Her health deteriorated, and she was in the hospital more times than

For Cici published a note. Persuasive speech regarding Childhood Cancer Awareness Specific Purpose: To convince my audience that childhood cancer is much more common than widely believed, and that action must be taken to increase awareness and funding for research Introduction I.

Despite my parent's divorce, I led a contented life. My dad lived in the outskirts of Denver, but his distance never kept him from maintaining an active role in my life. Back in Colorado Springs, I lived with my mom, little sister, and step-father. Growing up, I never felt that I truly fit in with any of my friends or even my family; like almost any other teenager, I felt awkward in my own skin. However, my focus quickly shifted away from myself. In November of 2013, my mother learned that she had Pancreatic Cancer. My bubble of protection from the world's problems promptly burst as I heard the diagnosis. My family did our research only to discover that the statistics were horrifying. The five-year survival rate for someone with any stage

“The doctors told me that there’s nothing more to do and I have months to live,” said Randy Pausch, a man diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Pausch presented his Last Lecture (wisdom about life and the world) on the Oprah Show. In this text, I will be discussing my First Lecture at 14 years old.

After many chemotherapy sessions, it became clear that the chemo was truly killing her! Of course, when you are in a situation where your life is involved you begin to do any an everything that comes to mind to help the big problem. With that being said, granny flew to Houston Texas to the cancer center to begin a new type of chemo. Once she arrived in Houston she decided she no longer wanted to go through with chemo, she told us she believed that we needed to put it in the Lords hands and let him handle

When I was nineteen years old, my father got diagnosed with cancer. Up until then, I was a happy, content teenager working in a local gym in an attempt to aid people with reaching their goals and promoting good health. With the progression of my father’s cancer, however, my life changed drastically. I remember the day of the diagnosis as if it were yesterday—these are feelings you can never forget, no matter how hard you try. By the time the physicians were able to locate the origin of my father’s cancer (the left kidney), it had already metastasized to his lungs. After the initial surgery in which the affected kidney was removed, he went through chemotherapy, which caused his body to go into a coma. Despite the fact that he was able to slowly recover, the second round of chemotherapy had the same effect on him—only this

Treatment is very limited for this cancer as many undergo surgical removal, but sixty percent of those patients are devastated with the returning of the disease within six months. Based on this concept even today most patients are left with medical treatment rather than surgery.

I never wanted to be fluent in cancer. I was content with my unrealized ignorance of oncological jargon and procedures. However, on April 10th 2015, when my husband was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, I quickly went from being ignorant of this disease, to consumed by it. The day of his diagnosis I began to educate myself on the role of caretaker and took post in a position that I would both loath and treasure.

I’ll never forget the day when my mom received the heartbreaking call. I was about to head off to batting practice. Something told me to come back in. As I went back into the house, I saw my mom on the phone, tears streaming down her face. She was shaking uncontrollably. And the next thing I noticed was the phone falling to the floor and making a deafening sound. I heard the words, “Does this mean I have cancer?” This moment was so surreal and I can’t imagine what my mom was feeling. However, my family didn’t run from this obstacle. We tackled it. Due to the depth and stage of the Melanoma, she

Aunt Jackie, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She has lost 40 pounds within her first month after her diagnoses. She had a difficult time receiving and retaining any nutrients from food forcing her to become weak and sick often. Aunt Jackie

The different treatment options available for cancer vary depending on which cancer has been diagnosed. Pancreatic cancer which affects the pancreas and surrounding lymph nodes and tissue, is the 4th leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States (pancreatic.org) and when compared to the other leading cancers in mortality rates, 94% of pancreatic cancer patients will die within five years of diagnoses and only 7% will survive more than five years. According to the Hirschberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, 74% of patients will die within the first year of diagnoses of pancreatic cancer and the chances of recovering depend on which stage a patient has been diagnosed with (cancer.gov).