PROFILE:
Strides
to making
a Difference
Michelle L. Curtis
I
n January of 2007, my father,
Lynn H. Curtis, passed away
from Pancreatic Cancer at age
66. When he first received the
diagnosis, only a mere 9 months
before his death, I had never heard
much about this insidious disease.
Unfortunately, our entire family
received a crash course about
Pancreatic Cancer and it’s impact –
not only on the toll it would take on
my father and his body, but of as all
of us as a family unit as well.
At the time of his diagnosis, there
were only a few courses of treatment
available, all of which were considered
life extending, but by no means a cure.
My father was put on a chemotherapy
regime and advised to get his affairs
in order to prepare himself and his
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
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NOVEMBER 2018
Lynn H. Curtis
family for the inevitable.
Pancreatic Cancer has little to no
symptoms in its early stages and is
typically not diagnosed until it has
spread to other parts of the body.
When he first began to feel ill, his
doctors thought he had possibly
developed diverticulitis, ulcers, or
another gastrointestinal issue, but hey
never even suspected cancer until a
CT Scan was conducted. And by that
point, it was too late. At the time of
his diagnosis, the cancer had already
metastisized into his liver. Pancreatic
Cancer often typicially first spreads
within the abdomen and then to the
liver. It can also spread to the lungs,
bone, brain, and other organs rather
quickly and quietly.
After the initial cancer diagnosis, he
made trips to three world-renowned
cancer centers and consulted with
multiple physicians, looking for other
means to fight it. Unfortunately, the