Contact
Darrell Berman
Written By: Julia Brabant, March 2026Diagnosed Early, Darrell Berman Reaches Five Years Without Detectable Cancer
Fortunate to be among a select few diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at an early stage, Darrell Berman’s decision not to ignore sudden-onset back pain gave him a valuable advantage, putting a range of treatment options within reach.
Darrell, of upstate New York, developed sudden, intense back pain during a trip to Vermont. The country was in the midst of a contentious election cycle at the time, so at first, he chalked it up to stress. When his pain escalated even more (Darrell called it “13” on a scale of one to 10), he visited a local Vermont urgent care.
Bloodwork revealed elevated lipase levels, and a nurse practitioner, suspecting pancreatitis, urged Darrell to follow up with his own doctor when he returned home.
Darrell did so upon arriving back in the Albany area, seeing a gastroenterologist who initially thought he had a cyst. However, further evaluation led to a diagnosis of early-stage pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Seeing urgency in Darrell’s situation, his care team acted quickly. Within weeks, he had a port installed and began chemotherapy using FOLFIRINOX, a combination of chemo drugs used to treat pancreatic and other cancers. At the time, Darrell’s tumor had vein involvement that took surgery off the table.
However, the chemo regimen worked as intended, reducing the tumor’s size while pulling it far enough away from the vein to make surgery possible. Darrell wound up having a Whipple surgery, a complex operation involving much of the digestive tract.
The difficult surgery led to a series of complications, but Darrell had a skilled team of three surgeons working on him that prevented him from needing blood transfusions.
From when I first found out about my diagnosis, my wife and children were right there with me. We did a lot of research very quickly.
The outcome of the operation looked encouraging, with Darrell showing clear margins, no lymph node involvement and no diabetes, the last of which can sometimes develop if surgery affects pancreatic function.
Darrell followed up his Whipple procedure with several months of adjuvant chemotherapy, or treatment given after primary treatment. It took a toll, though, with ongoing nausea making it hard for Darrell to hold anything down and causing rapid weight loss. By July 2021, his condition had worsened to the point that he weighed just 116 pounds. Doctors admitted him to intensive care for five days to pump nutrients into his system.
For me, time is a gift. These last five years, it’s been a real gift for me to be able to spend time with my wife, children, friends and see my grandchildren grow.
Darrell’s medical team, at this point, considered ending chemo altogether, but Darrell chose to stick it out and complete the 10-round cycle his team initially recommended. His doctors did, however, adjust his regimen, removing one of the drugs in an effort to make treatment more manageable.
When he reached the end of his chemo regimen, Darrell enrolled in a year-long clinical trial. The trial involved people with both pancreatic cancer and the BRCA gene mutation, which Darrell knew he had prior to his cancer diagnosis. Participants in the double-blind study received either olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, or a placebo. While Darrell never learned which group he was a part of, his oncologist suspects he was among those receiving the real medication.
Darrell also made a point to stay active in the weeks and months following treatment, sometimes walking three or four miles a day in a routine he still continues today.
His family was also a constant presence throughout the process.
“From when I first found out about my diagnosis, my wife and children were right there with me,” Darrell said. “We did a lot of research very quickly.”
While his loved ones were helpful in terms of researching Darrell’s condition and options, they also took notes during medical appointments so that Darrell could focus on asking questions and staying engaged. He worked with a counselor throughout some of his treatment to work through some of the emotional aspects of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment plan, finding that it also helped him reduce common anxieties that can develop ahead of regular scans.
For now, he has those scans every six months, but he’ll likely transition to annual scans with intermittent bloodwork in the future.
Overall, Darrell feels good and leads a fairly normal life. That said, certain aspects of it reflect what he’s been through. For starters, he lost his sense of taste and smell back in March of 2020, and six years later, they’ve yet to return. He’s also begun mentoring others with pancreatic cancer. He takes referrals from organizations like New Jersey’s Cancer Hope Network and acts as a sounding board and resource for those navigating similar paths.
“I try to give people hope,” he said. “Because the first thing you think after a diagnosis is, ‘How much time do I have?’ And don’t just take the first opinion as gospel; there are a lot of options out there. Make sure you uncover every stone and see what can benefit you. If you’re not happy with what you hear, keep researching. And don’t give up.”
He also finds that his survival still surprises people.
“I’ve heard it all,” Darrell said. “I know the stats are not in my favor, or in anyone else’s favor, but we’ve defied those statistics so far.”
He knows more progress will come when pancreatic cancer research gets the funding it deserves.
“It’s so prevalent now – not a week goes by that I don’t hear about someone who’s either passed from it or had their father, mother or cousin get it,” Darrell said. “I don’t know what’s causing it all – obesity, drinking, smoking, mutations – but $25 million a year is not going to cut it.”
Darrell also hopes to see the medical community devote more time and attention to helping people with pancreatic cancer post-treatment by guiding them through aspects like nutrition and mental health.
He also looks at time a lot differently than he did before.
“For me, time is a gift,” he said. “These last five years, it’s been a real gift for me to be able to spend time with my wife, children, friends and see my grandchildren grow.”
