Diagnosing Pancreatic Cancers
- One year after his cancer diagnosis, Gary Jones is back on the golf course, highlighting the importance of keeping your doctor appointments.
- In August 2020, during a routine physical, it was revealed through a series of tests that Jones' live enzymes were 10 times what they should be. He was subsequently diagnosed with ampullary adenocarcinoma, a rare type of gastrointestinal cancer.
- One thing we know for certain is that things are going to change after you've had cancer that's part of the process. But it doesn't have to be a bad thing.
His hole-in-one was made on Aug. 30, a year after receiving his ampullary adenocarcinoma diagnosis. Jones was playing golf with two friends at the Hughes Creek Golf Course in Elburn, Ill., when he made his first-ever hole-in-one, which was made on the 17th hole of the course. What club did he use? A 6-iron. How far did he hit the ball? A whopping 154 yards.
Read MoreJones' Cancer Diagnosis & Getting Back to Golf
In August 2020, during a routine physical, it was revealed through a series of tests that Jones' liver enzymes were 10 times what they should be. His doctors performed an endoscopy a non-surgical procedure used to examine a person's digestive tract and they found a blockage in his bile duct. The blockage was then biopsied, and it was determined that there was a tumor located at the ampulla of Vater a small opening where the pancreatic and bile ducts (from the liver) connect to the first part of the small intestine. He was subsequently diagnosed with ampullary adenocarcinoma, a rare type of gastrointestinal cancer. Adenocarcinoma is cancer that forms in the glandular tissue that lines certain internal organs and makes and releases substances.Within a week of receiving his diagnosis, Jones was preparing for a Whipple procedure. The Whipple procedure is an operation to remove the head of the pancreas (which is to the right in the abdomen), the first part of the small intestine, the gallbladder, which is a small pouch under the liver, and the bile duct, which is a thin tube that goes from the liver to the small intestine. The remaining organs are reattached to allow you to digest food normally after surgery.
"I was concerned initially," Jones says. "I'd heard of Whipple surgery and certainly never thought it would be happening to me. But I never felt like I could be in better hands than I was with (my doctor). He told me, 'Gary, I'm confident that I can fix you,' and that was what I needed to hear."
Jones had the tumor and 17 lymph nodes removed during the surgery. His lymph node biopsy results all came back negative, indicating no spread of disease. Jones started chemotherapy in December of last year as a preventive measure. And after finishing chemo, he was finally able to get back on the golf course.
Jones says he wasn't expecting to "pick up where he left off" in terms of skill; he quickly learned he needed to lean back into the sport.
Jones continues to meet with his doctor every three months for CT scans and additional blood work to make sure the cancer hasn't returned. He will keep up those screenings for about three years. There's no evidence of disease so far, and he's cancer-free.
Life After Cancer
Jones' return to the golf course signaled an important moment for him: getting back to normal. But what does that really mean? We've all been trying to get "back to normal" since March 2020 when the Covid pandemic began. For cancer survivors, like Jones, once they hear those magic words "no evidence of disease" getting back to normal can be difficult. And we're not sure what it means, considering "normal" is different for everyone.
One thing we know for certain is that things are going to change after you've had cancer that's part of the process. But it doesn't have to be a bad thing.
Follow That Fire: Life After Cancer Will be Different, That Doesn't Have to be a Bad Thing
After CC Webster was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at 29 years old, she was struck by the overwhelming anxiety she started to feel. "In life after cancer, I experienced an entirely new level of anxiety that I didn't know existed," Webster tells SurvivorNet. "Earth-shattering anxiety that makes you sweat, and makes your heart race. I had to learn how to manage myself in that, and how to allow myself to process the trauma that I had just been through."
Webster says what finally got her back on her feet was facing her anxiety head-on. Eventually, she was able to walk away from her cancer journey with a new outlook on life.
Contributing: SurvivorNet staff
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