On January
5, 2012, I received the most devastating news. I had stage 4 inoperable
pancreatic cancer. I was reluctantly told that I had about nine months to live.
There was never a question that I wouldn’t fight with all I had for my sons and
my husband, Patrick, the love of my life. I had no thought what was
ahead of me. I had no idea that I would end up feeling that this was a gift in
a strange package, and that this would be a journey of love, hope, and faith.
On March 6, 2019, the seventy-eight year-old game show host of Jeopardy!,
Alex Trebek, announced he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
The following is an open letter to the television personality from a long-time
survivor of the deadly disease. Alex had hosted Jeopardy! for thirty-five years.
Dear Alex Trebek,
At the diagnosis
of my stage 4 pancreatic
cancer, I was filled with fear, sadness and disbelief. I thought, “How is this
even possible?” I was married for 11 years; I had two amazing boys, Jake (then
8) and Ryan (then 6); and a job that I absolutely loved. My life, as I knew it
changed forever in an instant.
Like you,
Mr. Trebek, I had an outpouring of love and support (on a much smaller scale).
I was astounded by the kindness and sheer loveliness from friends and even complete
strangers. My family became my prayer warriors, my caregivers, and my security.
My husband held down the home front. He would even carry me upstairs to my
bedroom when I was too weak.
My boys
thought it was so funny, but I loved that they had this kind of role model. I thought
it was really romantic. My best friends became my sons’ surrogate moms. They
took them to swim practice and endless fun activities. The good far outweighed
the bad.I ended up doing twelve rounds of chemotherapy, 25 rounds of stereo tactical radiation along with a 24/5 (24 hours a day, five days a week) chemo pump and then a cutting-edge surgery, called NanoKnife (also known as Irreversible Electroporation or abbreviated as IRE). I also did some more post-surgery chemo.
You may
wonder how I stayed positive. My answer was always the same: “I didn’t choose
to get cancer and I
didn’t choose to go through this, but I do get to choose my attitude. So
I choose to be happy and live my life.” Guess what?! I won over stage 4
pancreatic cancer and have been in full remission for six and a half years. So Alex Trebek, you go
kick cancer’s butt. It has no chance against you because you got this.
Sincerely,
Elise Roth Tedeschi
“Dear Cancer,
Thank you for making me stop and listen and remember what’s truly important.
You can go now.” (www.bravelets.com)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“A Potential Boon
for Pancreatic Cancer Patients” by John Hopkins Surgery
·
“Alex Trebek” from
Wikipedia
·
“An
open letter to Alex Trebek from a mom who survived stage 4 pancreatic cancer”
by Elise Roth Tedeschi
·
“Wheel
of Fortune's Pat Sajak among Stars
Showing Support for Alex Trebek after Cancer Diagnosis” by People .com
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