116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Woman beats the odds of deadly pancreatic cancer, helps spread awareness about the disease
Nov. 12, 2015 9:07 pm
Sandra Wilke got lucky.
For years, she'd had issues with atrial
fibrillation — an irregular and often rapid heart rate — but when she had a particularly bad attack that sent her to the hospital, doctors wanted a CT scan.
Wilke of Asbury said they must have been 'guided by God' to look beyond her heart because, much to her surprise, they found a cancerous tumor at the tail of her pancreas — an organ she barely knew existed.
The diagnosis in October 2011 caught her off guard — she never thought cancer would happen to her.
'My family doesn't do cancer,' she said. 'We do heart problems and diabetes, not cancer.'
The idea of telling her husband, Bruce, whose first wife died from cancer, pained her.
'It was extremely difficult to say your second wife now has cancer,' she said. 'But he was very supportive.'
'I had to take good care of her, because it takes too long to break in a new wife,' joked Bruce Wilke, her husband.
More seriously, he said, 'Life goes on. You can't just stop because stuff happens.'
Wilke wanted an honest prognosis from her doctor and no sugar coating. When it comes to her life, quality is more important than quantity, she said. But, she admitted, it was a 'very emotional time.'
'You have your own mortality staring you in the face,' she said.
According to the National Cancer Institute, pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer in the United States and is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. In 2014, it was estimated that more than 46,000 people in the United States would be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and nearly 40,000 would die — a survival rate so low mostly because tumors almost always are found too late.
The pancreas, a vital part of the digestive system that controls blood sugar, is deep inside the abdomen, making tumors difficult to see or feel during an exam.
And, it's aggressive.
The cancer will spread quickly, even while the tumor still is small. By the time symptoms appear, the cancer already has spread to other organs — often a terminal diagnosis.
According to Dr. Daniel Mulkerin, Wilke's doctor at University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center in Madison, 10 percent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer find the tumor early enough for surgery.
Even with surgery, three-fourths of those patients will see the cancer return, and it's highly resistant to chemotherapy and radiation.
'Pancreatic tumors are the most difficult to fight,' Wilke said. 'They have a tough shell. They're hard to infiltrate with anything.'
'That's why it's important for patients to seek clinical trials,' Mulkerin said. 'Because we don't have a great treatment yet for this type of cancer.'
Catching Wilke's tumor early saved her life. On Dec. 5, 2012, Wilke had the tip of her pancreas, her spleen and several lymph nodes removed.
The doctors also recommended that she start chemotherapy. But she resisted. The side effects weren't exactly the quality of life she was seeking.
But her kids 'gave her hell,' she said, so she agreed to try it. If she didn't like it, she'd quit.
After three months of chemotherapy, she became depressed and developed an 'incredible sense of smell that was just awful,' she said. Scents such as perfumes, hair spray, lotions and alcohol would leave her with a 'roaring headache' and unbearable nausea. So she stopped.
Four years after her diagnosis, Wilke is a survivor and one of a few.
According to the NCI, the average five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 7.2 percent — a staggeringly low statistic compared to the 89.4 percent survival rate of breast cancer.
Each year she goes without the cancer returning, the lower her risk becomes. But, she said, that doesn't mean she's 'cancer-free.'
'Once you have cancer, you're never cancer-free,' she said. 'You never stop thinking about it. It's always in the back of your mind.'
Wilke, 74, also is participating in a John Hopkins study to research genetic markers for early detection. She said it would be the 'miracle of miracles' to see an early diagnostic tool for pancreatic cancer in her lifetime.
Wilke wants to be a voice for those who have lost theirs. Pancreatic cancer is not getting enough attention, she said, and very little monetary support for research, especially compared to cancers, such as breast cancer.
'It's not a competition,' Mulkerin said.
'But pancreatic cancer doesn't have as many voices,' he added. 'Patients usually succumb to the disease before their voice is heard ...
'That's why Sandra (Wilke) is so special — because she's a survivor and able to tell her story.'