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Waukesha Freeman: To ‘the extreme’ and back again: Pewaukee pancreatic cancer survivor celebrates milestone with service to others
PEWAUKEE — Like so many other things in life, they say pancreatic cancer is a journey. And on a journey, some are in a position to help others to venture ahead from a place they themselves have been. And after negotiating perils, there are milestones, their own rewards in themselves, along the way that people cannot achieve without the help of others.
That’s where Connie McCance of Pewaukee finds herself today. Five years after a major surgery to confront her pancreatic cancer — itself a milestone all too few achieve — she is part of a group committed to helping others through their own journeys.
McCance, a married mother of three daughters, used to run 6 miles a day, drinking water and milk, and doing what she could to take care of herself. She had a physical in 2019 that had no warning signs, but within two months she started not feeling well. What she and doctors she consulted with thought was acid reflux to be treated with over-thecounter medications gradually worsened, with fatigue also setting in. She returned to her doctor, saying it couldn’t be “just” acid reflux. “I even told myself I think I have cancer and he told me, ‘Connie that’s going to the extreme,’” McCance said.
But her blood work came back “all out of whack,” McCance said, and a Friday night trip to the emergency room followed. Scans revealed a mass on her pancreas. She and her husband, Gordon, did their research and learned of Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin having a top-notch team working in the area of pancreatic cancer; they went there. What lay ahead was four months of chemotherapy, then six weeks of chemo and radiation therapy, then four weeks to rest and gather strength for what’s called a Whipple procedure to remove some of the pancreas, as well as gall bladder and bile duct, and part of the small intestine before refashioning her stomach.
McCance had her surgery Nov. 4, 2019, and recently celebrated a milestone of a five-year anniversary. Only 13% of those who undergo the surgery mark the occasion five years later. That road after a 17-day recovery in a hospital hasn’t been all smooth — McCance said the “new stomach” has to “wake up” after the surgery, and it took time for her to process foods; medications helped with nutritional challenges. She lost 30 pounds and has gained some.
“This is a cancer that’s got challenges after the fact. You’re grateful you’re alive,” she said.
After the doctors and medical team do their work, that’s where another group comes in to help along the journey. She learned of and became involved with the Seena Magowitz Pancreatic Cancer Foundation which supports research and patients with this disease. Her care team helped to prepare her as much as they could, McCance said, but there’s something more to gain from talking to others who’ve been there along their own journeys.