I was diagnosed with PC stage 1 at age 70 in 2023. I was in pretty good health. Had 8 rounds of chemo, a month off, Whipple (at Mayo Rochester), 6 weeks off & 4 more rounds of chemo. It’s major surgery. The recovery was less intense than I expected—probably due to expectations of hell. I am still cancer-free. That said, I think I am still regaining what I lost in the 9 months of treatment overall. It takes time, especially the older we are. I walk about an hour every day and go to the gym 3x/week.

I also had to have abdominal wall reconstruction about 18 months post-Whipple due to abdominal hernias. The surgeon said my abdomen was “Swiss cheese-like”! I was told it is not unusual to have abdominal herniation post-Whipple.