Life’s a Dance

I never do this kind of thing.  So please bear with me.

The personal…
One year ago today, my step-dad Gary died of pancreatic cancer.  It took him quickly, just under seven months from diagnosis.  But it was better that it went quickly.  There was no hope of remission.  At the time he went into the hospital, we had a good idea he would not come out alive, except to go home to die.

My last two blog posts about Gary are here and here.  I thought I wrote about his funeral but can’t find a post about it.  It was really a nice (if you can call it that) funeral.  The night prior, there was a visitation at the church.  Mom didn’t want his body there but older relatives did.  So his body was in the church and the celebration of life (as it was called) was in the fellowship hall.  And it truly was a celebration!  Lots of tears, of course, but tons of smiles & laughter as well.  The next morning was the funeral.  Again, Mom didn’t want the body there but older relatives did.  Gary almost always wore a baseball cap, so there were a couple in the casket, including the one brought back from China that said ‘grandpa’ in Chinese.  Mom had a few people get up to talk about Gary.  They shared good stories, brought smiles to our faces and tears to the eyes.  We sang a few of Gary’s favorite hymns.  And the pastor gave a wonderful dedication and memorial.  Gary was to be cremated, so there was no burial.  But there was a cookout at Mom’s house afterwards.  All in all, its just about what I’d want in my own funeral.

My mom is doing well.  The last couple weeks have been understandably rough.  But she’s good.

The nitty gritty…
97% of patients die within six months of diagnosis and less than 2% are still alive at the five-year mark. If the cancer has spread beyond the pancreas and/or can’t be completely removed during surgery, there is virtually no chance for survival.  Less than 10% of patients have pancreatic-confined cancer at the time of their diagnostic surgery.

The signs of the disease often don’t show up until the cancer is in an advanced state.  And the ones that DO show up can easily point to many more-benign conditions.  PLEASE take these signs seriously, especially if you have a family history of pancreatic cancer.  If you or anyone you know are diagnosed with another condition and symptoms don’t improve, PLEASE get a second opinion.

• jaundice
• diabetes
• pancreatitis
• unexplained weight loss
• loss of appetite
• nausea or vomiting
• abdominal pain
• diarrhea

For more information about this disease, visit:

Cancer Compass
Wikipedia entry
Johns Hopkins info

And, if you care to and are able to, please consider donating to pancreatic research.  Three foundations are the Hirshberg Foundation, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Lustgarten Foundation.  With the recent death of Dr. Randy Pausch (of The Last Lecture fame), I pray that more attention will be given to this terrible disease.  While it may not effect as many people as other forms of cancer, its among the deadliest.