21 December 2021 is a day I will never forget. I had a CT scan that morning and that afternoon a call from my doctor confirmed my worst fears - the scan showed a mass in my pancreas and it looked like cancer. What? “how did I get here”? I looked and felt well. My only symptom was upper abdominal pain radiating to my back, which i had experienced for only 10 days! It was diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome. As I searched my mind I remembered experiencing similar pain earlier in 2021 - it was diagnosed as gastritis and later irritable bowel syndrome then. So i almost brushed it off as more of the same. Luckily this time I listened to my body - something about this pain was not right. Also, though one doctor told me “you look too well to have cancer”, I could not shake off the possibility give my mother’s history of pancreatic cancer. So i sought another opinion and found a liver and pancreas specialist (surgical gastroenterologist) who listened to my story and ordered the CT scan on 21 December. 

My life was a blur for the next few days. I barely had time to process the news. I had surgery on 28 December, and on 31 January 2022 I started 12 cycles of chemotherapy, which I completed on 18 July 2022. 

The chemotherapy was tough. I experienced many side effects and lost a lot of weight. There were moments I wanted to throw in the towel, but my faith; the love and support of my husband, family and friends; as well as a supportive team of health providers kept me going. To stay the course, I trained my mind to see the chemo journey as one day at a time - I looked forward to and celebrated every bedtime because this meant I had made it through one more day. Eventually I made it to 18 July. today on 28 December 2023 I celebrate 2 years since the surgery.

I encourage everyone to listen to your body, seek a second opinion if need be and find a health provider who will hear you.

I encourage those cancer survivors on treatment to hold on. It will get tough, but hold on when does. Get through it one day at a time.