National Cancer Survivor Month Spotlight: Laurie MacCaskill with Facts About a Pancreatic Cancer diagnosis
June is National Cancer Survivor Month and it also marks my 16th year as a cancer survivor! This post is part of a 6-post partnership with REALM IDx, and its companies Ambry Genetics and Invicro, to proudly celebrate all of you survivors in the cancer world. You can read the original article here.
“To make use of suffering is to know the art of living.”
—Based on a quote by Henri-Frédéric Amiel
I was told to get my affairs in order; I had less than six months to live. I determined that I would not allow a pancreatic cancer diagnosis to beat me and fulfill the prediction. This month, I am celebrating sixteen years as a pancreatic cancer survivor. I have great love, gratitude, and awareness of how fortunate I am.
At the time of my pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2006, my doctors did not give me very good odds of survival. It is an extra challenge to live when everyone is telling you that you are dying.
None of us can do anything about the length of life, but we can do something about its width and depth. I believe my life is 10 percent of what happens to me and 90 percent of what I do with it. I was determined not to let cancer control my life.
I have committed my life to cancer advocacy. The lives of everyone impacted by pancreatic cancer will be improved by advancing scientific research, building community, sharing knowledge, and advocating for patients. I would like to share with you some facts about pancreatic cancer and some great resources for information.
WHAT CAUSES PANCREATIC CANCER?
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 62,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022[1] —that’s around 170 people per day.
Pancreatic cancer’s exact causes are not well understood. Cancers can be caused by inherited gene mutations or acquired gene mutations.[2] It is especially important to undergo genetic testing if you have a close relative who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, to determine if you have the same shared mutations. Pancreatic cancer can also occur because of exposure to something harmful, including factors like smoking, obesity or age. It can also happen randomly.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF a PANCREATIC CANCER diagnosis?
Many of the symptoms can be vague and are similar to less serious conditions.
abdominal pain
midback pain
indigestion
loss of appetite
nausea
new-onset diabetes
unexplained weight loss
jaundice[3]
My main symptom was a backache, which was dismissed after numerous tests and requests for further examination. If a symptom appears for unknown reasons or persists, I strongly recommend you visit a doctor.
WHY IS PANCREATIC CANCER SO DEADLY?
Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer—with a dismal five-year survival rate, still just 10 percent. Here are some of the reasons why:
There is no known cause in most patients.
There is no effective screening.
There is no reliable early detection mechanism.
For patients with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, after the cancer has spread, the five-year survival is just 2 percent.
Pancreatic cancer strikes down women and men equally, and cuts across all races and ethnicities.
Pancreatic cancer is projected to be the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. before 2030.[4]
There are few tools to combat it (this is beginning to change).
PRECEDE—The Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection Consortium
Imagine a world where we can detect, treat, and prevent pancreatic cancer in our lifetime! This will happen, resulting from the important mission of PRECEDE, an international, multi-institutional collaborative group of experts working to increase survival for pancreatic cancer. The goal is to increase the five-year survival rate of individuals diagnosed with pancreatic cancer from 10 percent to 50 percent within the next ten years. Several factors set this initiative apart from other early detection programs.
With over 35 leading academic medical centers across the globe, PRECEDE has assembled the largest high-risk patient cohort, with biospecimen collection and longitudinal clinical data. Integral to the success of this mission is the leadership of Dr. Diane Simeone, internationally recognized surgeon, and scientist. PRECEDE’s research initiative seeks to better determine who is at risk, define the risk level more precisely, and offer early detection for more and more individuals by increased use of genetic testing and pancreatic screening with imaging.
Together with REALM, and its businesses Ambry and Invicro, PRECEDE will apply an integrated diagnostic approach to the early detection and prevention of pancreatic cancer. With the team’s expertise and risk modelling, machine learning, data management, genetic testing biomarkers, and imaging, it can be determined who is at an elevated risk for developing pancreatic cancer, define that risk, and invite those at elevated risk into advanced screening programs. The analysis of this data is critical for disease detection, prevention, and treatment and will help to inform future early detection methods.
One critical piece to improving early detection will be better identification of individuals at risk. While there are several known risk factors for pancreatic cancer, including smoking, diabetes, and obesity, it is clear that genetics plays a more significant role than was previously believed. Genetic testing is not yet fully integrated into pancreatic cancer care, but REALM’s commitment to support PRECEDE will change this. Maximizing testing of patients with pancreatic cancer can help us make better recommendations for their family members who could benefit from participating in surveillance programs.[5]
I am proud to be a member of the board of directors for PRECEDE and work with REALM IDx, who is committed to and passionate about helping PRECEDE achieve its goals. Defeating pancreatic cancer with early detection remains their urgent mission. We want to hear more patients say:
“Because of what a simple genetic test showed, I feel like I still have my whole life ahead of me.”
1 https://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/about/key-statistics.html/
2 https://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/what-causes.html