Young mother being monitored for pancreatic cancer

In 2012, I was 39, a wife and a mother to three girls. I was often waking up in the middle of the night with horrible stomach pain. I finally went to a GI (gastrointestinal) specialist who put me on a gallbladder diet. In December, an astute family doctor noticed my distended abdomen. She sent me in for an ultrasound that night, which eventually led me to a major medical center. It was there that they found an IPMN of the main duct.

I’m being monitored but have not had a resection to date. I do intermittent fasting and eat a low-fat, dairy-free diet to minimize the inflammation. Being in limbo is not ideal but has shown me the importance of early detection.

Contact a Patient Central Associate
Contact PanCAN’s Patient Services for free, personalized and in-depth information about pancreatic cancer.

Any treatments, including clinical trials, mentioned in this story may not be appropriate or available for all patients. Doctors take many things into account when prescribing treatments including the stage and type of cancer and the overall health of the patient.