As many of you know, my father-in-law, Claro, passed away from cancer of the pancreas last May. Unfortunately, he missed out on our wedding, his second son's college graduation, and his daughter's high school graduation. However, through all of these life changing events, all of us felt his presence with us on our special days. This past Sunday for the PanCan walk, the forecast called for rain. We were all set to brave it, and our family friend even brought ponchos. However, the weather turned out to be gorgeous! It wasn't even cold...and the sun was beaming! We believe this is Claro and all the other angels up in heaven bringing us sunshine for our walk.
Prior to last May, I've hardly ever heard of the word "pancreas". I didn't know what it did and where it was located in our bodies. Through some research, I found out that the pancreas sit underneath the stomach, which makes it very hard to operate on. The pancreas helps break down proteins, carbs and fats and produces insulin to help regulate your blood sugar. Because Claro had diabetes, his pancreas was not functioning normally, making it susceptable to disease.
Claro first complained of back pain in December, for which doctors prescribed pain medication. This dull pain continued to early April and during a regular check up with his regular doctor, they discovered a mass in his liver. Upon further tests, they discovered that the origin of the disease came from the pancreas and he was officially diagnosed with cancer in late April. At this point, the cancer has spread to 90% of his liver.
Three weeks after his diagnosis, Claro passed away peacefully in a hospital bed with all his family by his side. I took the ferry and rushed over to the hospital immediately after work, without having a chance to say my goodbyes. To this day, Chris and I are thankful that the doctors told us he probably felt minimal pain and was quite comfortable during his stay at the hospital.
This cancer takes 95% of the lives diagnosed because it is typically painless. By the time you feel some type of discomfort, it's already spread away from the pancreas. Below are the symptoms:
--Pain in the upper abdomen
--Loss of appetite
--Jaundice (yellowing of the skin, eyes...urine)
--Blood clots
--Depression
--Diabetes
These symptoms aren't extremely specific, but if you and especially your loved ones, suspect something is deeply wrong, I urge you to push your doctor to perform further testing. Research as much as you can with the vast of information online, books, and other sources. I've heard that we're our own advocates when it comes to our health, and good doctors are lifesavers, but diagnosing a deathly disease sometimes takes trial and error, which can take a long time If you feel something is not right with you, you have the right to push for more tests or go see a second physician.
I mentioned that Claro had one kidney...and it was donated by his wife, Linda. Their story is so wonderful, and their love is inspirational for Chris and I. Chris has mentioned before that because of them, he has a solid view of what a marriage and love should be. Growing up, seeing how great his parents' relationship was, helped form his own foundation for which to build a solid family.
This picture was taken at the Seattle airport in the 70's...when Claro was picking Linda up. Linda and Claro met in the Phillipines and Claro settled in Seattle, Linda in Arkansas. They got married in a courthouse in Arkansas and Linda stayed there to finish up her nursing contract. A year later, here, Claro picks her up from the airport and they started their life as a married couple. Today Linda wears Claro's wedding ring, along with her ring, on her wedding finger. The had matching wedding bands!
Thank you for reading this long, but very important post.
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