Recounting the symptoms that sent me to the ER, followed by five days in the hospital waiting for biopsy results on a suspicious mass on the head of my pancreas.

I count myself extremely lucky, as pancreatic cancer is notoriously hard to detect. Some people have no symptoms at all. Many symptoms can be written off as upset stomach, a back injury or even menopause.

Often with this cancer, the diagnosis is so late-term that Whipple surgery isn’t an option. And that’s what make pancreatic cancer statistics so frightening.

Symptoms vary widely, and I will work to collect more stories from more people in an effort to arm you with knowledge.

My biggest advice? If something feels off, go get it checked out. Don’t brush it off, don’t make excuses. Do not let the expense of the medical visit deter you. You can pay those bills off slowly over time. Your health and your life are priceless.

JuJu’s Timeline:

• December 14, 2025: Checked into ER after third bout of acute upper abdominal pain.
• December 15, 2025: Stent placed to relieve blocked bile duct and biopsy taken of mass in head of pancreas.
• December 19, 2025: Biopsy results reveal malignant adenocarcinoma of the head of the pancreas. Released from hospital.
• January 5, 2026: Whipple surgery for successful removal of head of pancreas. Twenty lymph nodes collected for biopsy.
  • Clear margins
  • Biopsy revealed four lymph nodes were cancerous.
  • KRAS mutation G12D
• February 23, 2026: Port placement.
• February 24, 2026: First administration of Fulfurinox chemotherapy.
• July 27, 2026: Twelfth and final chemotherapy appointment.
• August 26, 2026: Began Daraxonrasib trail RMC 304 (300 mg/day)