Catching It Early and Moving Fast

Wendy Kistela

• Stomach pains led to diagnosis
• Distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy
• Nausea medication during chemo
• Cancer has been scary for me

In July 2020 I started having stomach pain and discomfort, which I had never had before.

My doctor ordered a CT scan, which revealed that I had stage I pancreatic adenocarcinoma. They caught it early and we moved fast.

An Aggressive Approach

My medical team included oncologist Dr. Richard Lee and surgeon Dr. Ganesh Gunasekaran of Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, New York. We started with a distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. It was an aggressive approach and I am grateful for it.

After the surgery, I had six months of the strongest chemo at that time for a woman of my age (66)! This included treatment every two weeks for seven hours in one day. I was given three bags of chemo each time. It was so aggressive that I had to take nausea meds with each session otherwise I would get violently sick. I also took a fair share of Pepcid antacids to soothe my stomach. After a full day of chemo, I would go home with a pump for two more days.

Help me find a pancreatic cancer expert near me.

Learn more

Despite the difficulties on the full treatment days, I tolerated chemo better than I thought I would. Mostly I had nausea and was tired due to low hemoglobin levels.

Scared, But Grateful

Life after treatment can be scary. I get CT scans every six months and am still nervous about the results each time. My doctors have been wonderful and I couldn’t have asked for better people. My husband was my life during all of this, but he unfortunately passed away from another form of cancer. It’s been hard. But I’m still here and so happy that we found my cancer before it was too late. 

At the end of 2025 I got my five-year clearance from my doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, where I live now. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of my cancer and pray it doesn’t come back. But with a lot of prayers, I’m hoping to be cancer-free forever.

Treatment Can Be Intimidating

I know firsthand that cancer and its treatment can be scary. To everyone else out there who has been diagnosed, I recommend taking it one day at a time. If chemo or surgery sounds intimidating, remember that there are many resources and supplemental drugs out there to help you. If I can do it, so can you.