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Leslye’s story
My symptoms started with itchy skin. After a few days I was jaundiced and had dark coloured urine and back pain. I thought I had a problem with my gall bladder so I went to Emergency.
The doctors did several tests and scans and couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so they put a stent into my gall bladder to prevent it from becoming blocked.
The stent was changed four times over the course of a year. I had regular scans but no cancer was detected.
I wasn’t feeling well and I had a bout of pancreatitis, so my surgeon removed my gall bladder and did a biliary bypass. They were then able to see that I had a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour on the head of my pancreas.
One good thing for me was that I didn’t have to have chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
I had a Whipple procedure. It was a serious operation and I was in hospital for five weeks.
During recovery in hospital, I didn’t have a feeding tube – I drank water and built up to other fluids. Over the next six months, I lost a lot of weight because I didn’t eat a great deal.
I now eat a mostly vegetarian diet with meat 1–2 times per week. I take a digestive enzyme supplement called Creon with food and increase the dose with a larger meal. I try to eat well most of the time.
I rarely eat sugary, fatty or dairy foods. I’m able to maintain a healthy weight.
Since I’ve learned to manage my diet, I was able to go overseas this year on a European river cruise. I was careful with what I ate and I rested a few days when I needed to, but I didn’t have any serious problems.
More resources
Dr Lorraine Chantrill, Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncology, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital, and Honorary Research Fellow, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, NSW; Jennifer Arena, Pancreatic and Neuroendocrine Cancer Care Coordinator, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, and Northern Cancer Institute, NSW; Dr Michael Briffa, Southern Adelaide Palliative Services, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Rachel Corbett, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Victoria; A/Prof Nick O’Rourke, The University of Queensland, Chairman of General Surgery, Head of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Steve Pendry, consumer; Caley Schnaid, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Northern Cancer Institute and Wellac Lifestyle, NSW; Deane Standley, Consumer. We also thank the health professionals, consumers and editorial teams who have worked on previous editions of this title.
View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.
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