“The symptoms were quite vague. I had had abdominal discomfort and bloating for the last 3 years with little to no improvement with elimination dieting. I was referred to a gastrointestinal doctor and had a colonoscopy without any findings. In November 2019, I went to the urgent care doctors due to pain and tightness in my chest.

My symptoms and blood work indicated inflammation in my pancreas and liver and most likely due to gallstones. An ultrasound of my abdomen was performed and along with finding I did have a gallstone, the radiologist unexpectedly found an 8 cm mass on my pancreas. After having more scans I was referred to a specialist in Auckland who performed a distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy in December 2019. It was only after my diagnosis that I began to notice a dull ache on the left side of my back that I would have previously ignored.

When I was first diagnosed, I was in complete disbelief as my symptoms were vague and I didn’t feel “unwell” enough to think I had cancer. As this new reality set in I tried to remain positive which was put to the test when I received the results of my first CT scan, revealing I had “suspicious” spots on my liver and there was concern the cancer had spread.

Having these conversations with health professionals is hard, but not as hard as coming home to 2 young children, unsure of how much time you have left with them. The unwavering support of my family provided me with the strength and inspiration I needed to face these hard times and my first bit of good news came just after my surgery when the biopsy on my liver was negative with no sign of the cancer spreading.