Pancreatic Cancer Reflections: Between Hope and Despair

Kjell Olof was born in 1942 in Sweden. During the summer of 2021, he began experiencing persistent stomach pain, which led to a direct referral to the emergency room of the local hospital after visiting the health centre. An upper endoscopy the following day revealed a pancreatic tumour, with the only available treatment being surgery, thus setting the stage for a journey filled with both hope and despair.

Living in the north of Sweden, Kjell faced a considerable distance of 300 km to the county hospital and over 500 km to the university hospital, making the journey for medical care a challenging aspect of his cancer experience.

On 8 November 2021, Kjell underwent surgery, an essential step in his treatment. The procedure went off successfully, and after a week at the university hospital, he was transferred to the county hospital for an additional week of recovery and the six months that followed involved a rigorous chemotherapy regimen (capecitabine) and a rollercoaster of emotions between hope and despair due to the challenging side effects of the treatment. Covid regulations were still in place, and the emotional toll was evident when Kjell’s daughters and granddaughters visited him in November 2021 at the university hospital. Adorned in face masks, they were restricted from entering his room, only able to connect briefly while maintaining a safe distance in the stairwell.

Recollections of the surgery month and the Christmas season that followed remain vague for Kjell, a testament to the intensity of his cancer journey.

A Miraculous Turnaround

A pivotal moment was realised during a telehealth call with his oncologist on 12 July 2022, when the CT scan results were revealed. Now an octogenarian who had experienced a substantial weight loss in the spring of 2021, underwent the demanding Whipple surgery and rehabilitation, Kjell emerged completely cancer-free! Despite losing 20 kilograms, his appearance, including his appearance and hair, remained unaffected.

Kjell lost his wife of 49 years to terminal cancer in 2016 after a short illness. He is now living with his partner, who was with him unwaveringly during his journey with Pancreatic Cancer. For Kjell, without her, he probably would not have made it. His large family of four adult children and thirteen grandchildren was also a great source of support for him, despite most of their support coming in virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.