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Dianne Springer
Written By: Julia Brabant, Updated January 20265 Years Post-Diagnosis, Pancreatic Cancer Survivor Dianne Springer Is Living, Thriving & Collecting Passport Stamps
At five years post-diagnosis – a powerful milestone in pancreatic cancer survivorship – Dianne Springer’s day-to-day life is active, full and remarkably normal – a sharp contrast from the summer of 2020, when her world changed seemingly overnight.
It all happened so fast. You can’t help but freak out — one day, everything is fine, and the next day, they’re telling you that you have pancreatic cancer.
After developing sudden, intense abdominal pain at work, Dianne sought prompt treatment, with an ultrasound, CT scan and endoscopic ultrasound revealing a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, a rare subtype of pancreatic cancer.
“It all happened so fast,” Dianne said. “You can’t help but freak out — one day, everything is fine, and the next day, they’re telling you that you have pancreatic cancer.”
While the diagnosis dealt a major blow, there was a silver lining: Dianne was a resident of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee – and Milwaukee was home to Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, which operates one of the nation’s best pancreatic cancer programs. Dianne’s doctor referred her to MCW’s Dr. Doug Evans, a leading pancreatic cancer surgeon and specialist, and he and his team determined that Dianne was a good candidate for the Whipple procedure, an intense abdominal surgery often used to treat eligible pancreatic cancer patients. Dr. Evans didn’t think she needed to have chemotherapy or radiation leading up to the procedure, either, which was a relief to Dianne.
“I don’t want to say it was fun,” she said of the surgery, which removed part of her pancreas along with her bile duct and gallbladder. “But I’m grateful. I know how lucky I am to not have had to go through chemo or radiation.”
Dianne’s recovery was relatively rapid for such an invasive procedure, and she was able to walk the hospital’s hallways the following day.
“The nurses said they never saw someone walk so much right after surgery,” she recalled. “I told them, the next time they have a patient who has a Whipple, they need to tell them that Dianne Springer was up and walking in two days!”
Dianne’s recovery also involved physical therapy to make sure she could perform basic functions, with hospital staff helping her practice in a pretend kitchen so they could monitor how well she could fend for herself moving forward.
“I’m telling you, that nursing staff is phenomenal,” she said. “On a scale of one to ten, I give them a ten plus-plus. They were very professional and understanding — all of them are my heroes.”
She also had high praise for Dr. Evans. “The man is wonderful,” she said, recalling how, during one of her visits with the doctor, she donned a shirt gifted to her by two friends, one of whom had lost her own brother to pancreatic cancer. The shirt had “Whipple Warrior” emblazoned across the front.
“Dr. Evans got a kick out of it,” Dianne said, of the shirt that continues to hold special meaning to her to this day. “He asked if we could take a picture together while I was wearing it.”
Dianne also expressed immense gratitude for her husband, Tom, who’d been her rock and sounding board since day one. She recalled how, back in 2017, while watching a show about skydiving, the pair said, “We should do that!” Unbeknownst to Dianne, Tom had purchased a tandem skydiving package as a Christmas gift. Before he could give it to her, though, they found themselves watching skydiving again on TV, and she’d since changed her tune, remarking, “I could NEVER do that!”
Biting his tongue, Tom gave her the gift anyway. A few months later, they felt the rush that can only come from freefalling at 120 mph from more than 14,500 feet above sea level. They liked skydiving so much that they made plans to go back for a second jump in 2019. Weather sidelined those plans, though, and then 2020 came, and the pandemic and Dianne’s diagnosis forced them to push their next jump back yet again.
During an appointment with Dr. Evans ahead of Dianne’s surgery, the doctor had asked Dianne and Tom if they had any additional questions about the procedure or recovery process.
“Can she go skydiving after?” Tom joked, before Dr. Evans affirmed that she could, in fact, do so in due time.
These days, Dianne and Tom continue to embark on new adventures and travels, and while Dianne continues to work full-time, Tom has since retired.
“He loves it, except when I’m home,” she joked.
Now that she’s hit the five-year survivorship mark, Dianne plans to space her checkups out from once a year to once every 18 months. Once she reaches 10 years, she may be able to stop routine monitoring altogether. Dianne is also fortunate in that she’s had few issues since her Whipple and that her health remains strong for the most part, aside from an unrelated femoral hernia repair she had in October 2025. She attributes her good health and good fortune, at least in part, to staying active, exercising regularly and following the same relatively healthy diet she followed before her diagnosis and surgery.
Stay positive! I know firsthand that it’s easier said than done, but it’s something I’ve always tried to do.
She also attributes some of her success to quitting smoking – a move she made immediately upon hearing the words, “You have pancreatic cancer.”
When asked if she could go back and tell herself, pre-diagnosis, one thing, Dianne responded, “Take better care of yourself! And stop smoking,” she said, noting that she suspects her decades of smoking might have contributed to her cancer diagnosis. “Smoking may well be what did it for me.”
Instead of spending money on cigarettes, Dianne now sets it aside for something that serves her much better: annual trips with her husband. The pair traveled to Costa Rica in early 2025, where they enjoyed close encounters with monkeys, and they also have an upcoming trip to Punta Cana, Mexico, on the calendar. They also take regular camping trips closer to home whenever time allows.
Dianne also makes time for advocacy, supporting Relay for Life efforts and offering up advice for others facing diagnoses similar to her own.
“Stay positive!” she said. “I know firsthand that it’s easier said than done, but it’s something I’ve always tried to do.”
Now, five years after her initial diagnosis, Dianne does just that, and she also keeps her focus on the future by living well, exploring new parts of the world and moving through life with the quiet confidence of someone who’s keenly aware of just how far she’s come.
Dianne hasn’t shown any evidence of cancer since her 2020 Whipple procedure.
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