Denver Woman Battle Pancreatic Cancer

DENVER - November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, a chance to remind people about one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is the tenth most commonly diagnosed form of cancer for men and the ninth most commonly diagnosed form of cancer for women. But, for both groups, it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death.

The reason pancreatic cancer is so deadly is it's hard to catch early. In fact, the survival rate for patients after five years is only six percent.

"Pancreas cancer is usually detected at a late stage in most patients," explained Dr. Colin Weekes, the Director of the Medical Oncology Pancreas Program at University of Colorado Hospital. "That really is a function of where the pancreas lies in the body. So, unfortunately patients can develop tumors without developing any symptoms. And that allows the tumor to grow for some period of time before you actually get clinically pancreatic cancer-type symptoms."

Those symptoms first showed up for Jennifer Nuanes as abdominal pain. The pain was so intense, Nuanes' doctor sent her straight to the hospital. Within days, the former parole officer was diagnosed with stage one pancreatic cancer.

Surgeons removed Nuanes' spleen and most of her pancreas in Sept. 2012. At the time, they were optimistic they could cure her. But 10 months later, the pain returned, and so had Nuane's cancer. This time it was stage four.

"When we got stage four, it was devastating again. We didn't think it would ever come back and that's when we really leaned on our support," Nuanes said.

For Nuanes, the team leader of that support system is her partner, Celina.

"It's absolutely amazing," Nuanes said. "She became a doctor, a nutritionist, a nurse, you name it. She's researching absolutely everything so that we can continue to battle this."

Dr. Weekes says it's important for patients to maintain that same attitude and not to give up.

"There's a fair number of patients out there who have curable pancreas cancer but are told that they have a really bad disease and just sort of forget about therapy," Weekes said.

At University of Colorado's clinic, that therapy includes a multi-disciplinary clinic. The patients are evaluated by a team of doctors, who decide on the best plan for treatment. Dr. Weekes says his clinic has seen about 200 patients over the last year, and after reviewing those patients, they changed the treatment plan for about one-third of them.

Treatment for Nuanes includes chemotherapy right now. But, she says doctors have given her six to twelve months. And while it's difficult, she says she's still not defeated.

"You have to just endure the pain. I don't want to paint the picture that things are easy because they're really not," Nuanes said. "There's days when you can't get out of bed. There's days you can't eat. But, the support and the love around you is really what gets you through it."


Learn more at: http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/364961/222/Denver-woman-battles-pancreatic-cancer-