Jun. 3--Patrick Shea is a planner by trade.
At work, that means making lists of materials, software and whatever else is needed for a big project at Babcock & Wilcox.
At home, it means planning out almost everything, from big happenings, like vacations (travel, accommodations, things to do), to little things, like gardening (what plants to buy, where to plant them).
"I plan way ahead with everything," he said. "At least I used to."
Now, though, the 51-year-old Barberton man isn't planning for anything beyond his son's wedding in September.
Last July, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He knows the odds are against him making it much beyond September. He accepts that now. He's already written letters for his son, David, 23, of Barberton, and daughter, Shawna, 25, of Akron, to read after he's gone. He's been able to see his granddaughter's first steps and celebrate her first birthday.
"I'm getting ready to go on a year [since being diagnosed] and I'm feeling about as good now as I did then," he said. "I'm one of the lucky ones right now."
With whatever time he has left, Shea wants to raise the profile of this difficult-to-diagnose, difficult-to-treat and extremely deadly disease.
Pancreatic cancer has been getting some media attention lately, but the disease is often secondary to the story, overshadowed by celebrity (as in the case of actor Patrick Swayze) or by an emotional, uplifting message (as in the case of college professor Randy Pausch, whose Last Lecture has gone from Internet sensation to best-seller).
Shea, though, wants to focus on the cancer. He wants people to know how hard it is to diagnose the disease early, before it spreads, and how hard it is to treat once it is diagnosed. He wants people to know just how deadly the disease is.
And by drawing attention to the disease, he also hopes to draw money to groups like the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (http://www.pancan.org) because money
will draw researchers, who may be able to discover new methods to detect and treat pancreatic cancer.
"I want to take on this battle and do what I can while I'm still here," he said.
Nearly 38,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, making it the 10th most common cancer. But it's also the fourth deadliest form of cancer, killing more than 34,000 each year.
Often, the disease is caught in its late stages. Once symptoms appear, the cancer has usually spread beyond the pancreas, which is why few people -- just one in four -- survive one year past diagnosis. Only 5 percent survive longer than five years.
In the rare instances that it is caught early, aggressive treatment with surgery and chemotherapy can improve five-year survival to about 20 percent.
Late discovery
Unfortunately, Shea's cancer was discovered late.
He began having symptoms in February and March. Frequent stomach cramps, frequent bowel movements (up to 10 a day), bloody stools, and an unexplained loss of 27 pounds in just a few months. (Some patients also show signs of jaundice, though Shea did not.)
Figuring it was colon cancer, Shea scheduled a colonoscopy, which showed no signs of cancer. But Dr. Costas Kefalas at the Akron Digestive Disease Center felt something wasn't right, considering Shea's weight loss, so he scheduled a CT scan for the following week, which showed the tumor in the pancreas. At that point, Shea's cancer was already Stage 4, meaning it had spread beyond the pancreas. Surgery wasn't a possibility.
"The problem is that the pancreas is located in a part of the body where symptoms really don't develop until the disease is pretty far along," said Dr. Drew Abramovich, a Summa Health System oncologist. (The pancreas -- a flat, pear-shaped gland surrounded by the stomach, small intestine, liver and spleen -- produces enzymes that help with digestion and insulin to balance blood sugar.)
No blood test or screening exists to find pancreatic cancer early. CT scans are about the only way to diagnose the disease. However, Abramovich said, "pancreatic cancer is not common enough to warrant widespread screening. It's not like breast cancer or colon cancer, which are far more common."
Cause unknown
It's unclear what causes the disease, though recent research has pointed to heavy smoking and drinking, especially beer, as key contributors.
Both smokers and beer drinkers developed pancreatic cancer at younger ages, the study said. Heavy smokers -- a pack a day for 40 years, or more than two packs for 20 years -- developed pancreatic cancer an average of seven years before nonsmokers. And heavy drinkers -- more than three drinks a day -- developed pancreatic cancer 10 years younger than those who did not drink.
Smoking has long been a known risk factor, Abramovich said.
"Stopping smoking is probably the best thing anybody can do (to reduce the risk) for a number of cancers. That's No. 1," he said. "No. 2, family history is very important -- a family history of pancreatic cancer, and it's also linked to a family history of melanoma."
The recent high-profile cases of Swayze and Pausch, though, "really show that anybody can get pancreatic cancer. We talk about risk factors but I don't think either of them had any of those risk factors. They're relatively young, healthy, active. Those are the last people you expect to get pancreatic cancer. It's a scary thing. We don't know what triggers it."
For Shea, chemotherapy and radiation treatments have reduced the tumor's size from 6 centimeters to 3. A follow-up scan next week will show whether the treatment has continued to have a positive effect.
"I'm hoping the tumor stays the way it is or is still shrinking," he said, before adding, "When it decides to take off, it will grow fast."
Tracy Wheeler can be reached at 330-996-3721 or tawheeler@thebeaconjournal.com.
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