In January 2015 at about 7:30 in the morning, my wife Linda and I were having breakfast. At that time, I got a call from my endocrinologist, Dr. Joseph Terrana. To say that we were startled and nervous would be a tremendous understatement. Wouldn’t you be very concerned if a doctor called you at 7:30 AM?
[Interestingly, without referring to my MRI scan results, I don’t remember the exact date as January 15, 2015, only that it was a Thursday. I do remember other key dates so well. But I draw I blank on that one. I think that’s because I must have been in a daze. I guess that’s one reason why they make calendars.]
Some background: As a Type 2 diabetic for two decades, I got a battery of blood tests every three months through Dr. Terrana, besides the A1C test to monitor my blood sugar. One of the tests that Dr. Terrana regularly ordered—that I did not even know anything about since the results were one in a long list— was a Bilirubin test.
When Dr. Terrana called, he said my Bilirubin test result and a couple of other blood tests were elevated. And this might mean a tumor. Because he is an amazing doctor and person, by the time he called me, he had already scheduled a MRI scan for me for later that same day.
Linda and I went together when I did the MRI. And then we waited to get the CD of the scan and the radiologist’s report. This was the number one impression of the radiologist:
Marked atrophic changes within the body and tail of the pancreas associated with dilatation of the main pancreatic duct and ductal side branches within the pancreatic body and tail to the level of the pancreatic head where an approximately 3.0 cmheterogeneously enhancing pancreatic mass is present. Residual soft tissue in the region of the inferior aspect of the head and uncinate process of the pancreas may represent residual pancreatic parenchyma, but, the possibility of additional mass cannot be ruled out.
As a layperson, I had to read this at least three or four times to make any sense of that impression. When I had some grasp, these are the words that stood out to me: pancreas, pancreatic mass, and possibility of additional mass cannot be ruled out. I was pretty sure that “mass” meant tumor.
Linda and I immediately drove over to Dr. Terrana’s office about twenty minutes away to discuss the test results with him. We arrived at roughly 5:00 PM with no appointment and a waiting room full of patients. As soon as Dr. Terrana heard that we were there, he ushered us into his office. We were there for over an hour. [To this day, I’m still sorry for causing the other patients to wait for so long.]
Dr. Terrana calmly discussed the possibilities with us. And he suggested the steps that should be taken next. Previously, neither Linda nor I knew anything about pancreatic cancer nor the dire consequences often associated with it. But we were fearful of the possibility of cancer.
As the next step, Dr. Terrana wanted me to have an endoscopy with ultrasound. He would not let us leave the office until he arranged the endoscopy with a highly- rated gastroenterologist. He made calls to contact that doctor and to get an early appointment. This was a Thursday night, the following Monday was Martin Luther King Day, and Dr. Terrana secured an appointment for Tuesday morning. Wow!!
Since our family is close, Linda and I decided we would tell our daughters about the early prognosis on the day of my first scan. As we drove to see Jennifer, who lives two blocks from us, I got a call from Dr. Terrana on my cell phone noting that I forgot to take the CD of the scan with me after seeing him. Again, this is where he is an amazing human being.
When I said I would stop by his office the next day, he immediately replied that we had enough to worry about; and he insisted on dropping the disc in my mailbox. We live on his way home. Yes, our doctors can be extremely compassionate.
Jennifer is not usually outwardly emotional. But clearly she was shocked when Linda and I stopped by her house and told her. Thankfully, Phil was there to give her moral support.
Then, we drove over to see Stacey—who’s about 30 minutes away. Stacey is the emotional one. And I tried to reassure her that everything would be OK. She instantly said that she wanted to cancel her October wedding. My response: I intended to be there, to dance with her, and to make a toast. Thankfully, soon-to-be hubby Adam was there to support her.
The endoscopy revealed that “there is a 3 cm lesion that is hypoechoic and heterogeneous with loss of interface of SMV.” After that? We set up a consult with the best surgeon recommended to me: Dr. Gene Coppa, the Chair of Surgery at the LIJ Medical Center (part of Northwell Health ) and the Chair and Professor of the Surgery Department at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.
In an interesting twist of fate, my initial consult with Dr. Coppa was postponed for one week due to a severe snowstorm. Waiting another week to see him was not a fun time, as we were all so nervous.
Based on my various test results, Dr. Coppa recommended that I get Whipple surgery ASAP. He explained what this entailed; and it sounded pretty scary. He said that pancreatic cancer could spread very quickly and that we needed to act fast. OK, onward.
Dr. Coppa was also amazing. Obviously, he had a very full surgery schedule. What was especially complicated in trying to squeeze me in was that the Whipple surgery itself was going to be 8-½ hours, besides Dr. Coppa’s own prep time. Nonetheless, he cleared the decks to operate the week after I saw him.
What a miracle. It was exactly 4 weeks (including the snow storm) from my first CT-scan until my Whipple surgery.
While all this pre-surgery stuff was going on, I was remarkably calm. I truly surprised myself with this. But, Linda, the LOML, was a nervous wreck as events unfolded. That was when I really saw how tough a serious illness is on the whole family, not just the person who is ill.
A few final points for this chapter:
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PLEASE, visit your doctor(s) regularly and geta wide range of blood tests. Whatever your particular ailment, get diagnosed as early as possible. Listen to your medical team. Do NOTlet your fears cause you to put off seeing the doctor. Early diagnosis isvital for everytype of serious disease. Do this for yourself and your family.