Learning about Pancreatic Cancer
- Doctors told Abby Gnanachelvan, 29, her lower back pain was from depression after giving birth. But after demanding tests, the true cause was revealed to be stage 4 pancreatic cancer.but her doctors insisted. After demanding a blood test, however, she was finally diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
- She is now seeking treatment through studies, which are known as clinical trials. This gives patients access to treatments that are being tested before they’re approved, and that can be life-changing for people.
- Participating in one does not guarantee you will get the most effective treatment and they are certainly not for everyone, but it does give you the chance to potentially access new, cutting-edge treatments while advancing science.
- If you or a loved one has cancer and you're looking into clinical trial options, consider using the SurvivorNet Clinical Trial Finder an A.I. driven tool built on top of clinicaltrials.gov for patients to search clinical trial options.
Gnanachelvan had strained herself in the gym back in November when she started having a persistent pain in her lower back. She went to physical therapy, but her pain never subsided.
But her pain was only getting worse. It even got to the point where she couldn’t sleep because of it.
“With my background I should have realized something was seriously wrong. Waking up with pain at night is never a good sign,” she said.
She eventually demanded a blood test. Three hours after the test, her doctor told her to come back right away. That’s when she learned her blood test results were troubling and she would need further testing. A cancer diagnosis came shortly after.
“[The doctor] said it had spread to the spine and lungs and that I had five months to live, that he couldn’t operate on it,” she said. “I was like, ‘What, five months to live? I just ran 5kms, I feel good. I just have a sore back.’
“To be told you have cancer but you found it too late is gut wrenching. I am 29, usually very optimistic, but it is unfair.”
Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate… Don't Settle
Eventually, Gnanachelvan was confirmed to have stage four pancreatic cancer. She’s since undergone a three-month chemotherapy cycle and had to have eight screws placed in her lower spine after the cancer worked its way through the spine.
The Role of Clinical Trials
Gnanachelvan has defied the odds so far, but it’s been a long haul chasing experimental treatments. The Australian-based mom has currently moved onto a different chemo, but she has already set up another potential treatment option in the United States.
“I have to live, because my baby needs me,” she said. “So part of me holds onto that. After all they said five months and if that was true I would be dead.
“We found a doctor with a special interest in young people with pancreatic cancer… I know I can beat this I just need to find the thing that works for me.”
If you’d like to learn more about Gnanachelvan’s story or provide a donation to help her and her family during this time, visit her GoFundMe page here.
In the U.S., experimental treatments are tested in studies called clinical trials. This research helps doctors better understand cancer and discover more effective ways to treat it.
They also give patients a chance to try a treatment before it's approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and that can potentially be life-changing for patients.
For help finding a clinical trial that may be right for you or a loved one, try our easy-to-use Clinical Trial Finder, which helps you discover studies based on a few simple questions about your disease and location.
Learning About Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive cancer known as the “silent” disease. It can be tough to detect because misleading symptoms may or may not show.
"Because the pancreas is inside the abdomen often doesn't have symptoms that would tell you that something is wrong with your pancreas," Dr. Anirban Maitra, the co-leader of the Pancreatic Cancer Moon Shot at MD Anderson Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
"By the time individuals walk into the clinic with symptoms like jaundice, weight loss, back pain or diabetes, it's often very late in the stage of the disease."
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Pancreatic cancer treatment options vary based on the specifics of each case. In general, the following types of treatment may be used:
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Chemoradiation therapy
- Targeted therapy
Detecting Pancreatic Cancer Early Is Crucial
When it comes to stage four, or metastatic, pancreatic cancer, options are more limited. According to the National Cancer Institute, treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer or pancreatic cancer that has recurred (returned) may include:
- Chemotherapy with or without targeted therapy.
- Clinical trials of new anticancer agents with or without chemotherapy.
Clinical Trials
"We're encouraged by the trend toward more innovative clinical trial designs to improve the drug development process and ultimately lead to better patient outcomes," PanCAN Chief Science Officer Lynn Matrisian said in a 2022 article from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
A clinical trial can be defined as a research study that compares the most effective known treatment for a specific type or stage of a disease with a new approach.
Participating in one does not guarantee you will get the most effective treatment and they are certainly not for everyone, but it does give you the chance to potentially access new, cutting-edge treatments while advancing science.
Before getting involved in a clinical trial, talk with your doctor(s) and consider the following general risks of enrolling:
- The risk of harm and/or side effects due to experimental treatments
- Researchers may be unaware of some potential side effects for experimental treatments
- The treatment may not work for you, even if it has worked for others
"Clinical trials are critical to the development of new therapies, and as we live through this extraordinary revolution in genomics, immunotherapy and targeted therapy, it's clear that one of the most pressing needs for patients, clinical trials sponsors, and researchers is simply a better way to find patients," SurvivorNet CEO Steve Alperin said.
"Even one percent more people successfully enrolled in clinical trials can change the world."
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.