Teen with pancreatic cancer on having just two months left to live
- A teen on Reddit detailed their life with a terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis
- The user, 19, said they have ‘no regrets’ and have accepted the grim outlook
- READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE White poop was a telltale sign I had pancreatic cancer
A desperately sick teenager who suffers a rare form of advanced cancer has detailed his experience of being terminally ill with just two months left to live.
The 19-year-old Reddit user named Richard posted an Ask Me Anything (AMA) thread this week about his cancer experience.
The disease is America’s third deadliest form of cancer, and less than one percent of patients are under 20 years old.
The condition, which is notoriusly difficult to spot, affects just 13 out of every 100,000 people, according to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Despite the grim diagnosis, Richard said he has made peace with his prognosis and is ‘not afraid’ of death.
A 19-year-old Reddit user named Richard posted an Ask Me Anything thread about living with a terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis
Pancreatic cancer is the third deadliest form of the disease in the US, with an overall survival rate of 12.5 percent. However, that drops to around three percent if the disease is caught late, which is most often the case
He said never once was he ‘afraid of death’ and he has always believed that when his time comes, he would be ready. ‘I tried my best to have 0 regrets,’ he wrote.
‘I don’t have regrets or grudges. I’m just for whatever the destiny reserves for me.’
Richard noticed ‘something was off’ about a year ago. ‘I was always tired, feeling without energy and then [I] saw blood in my feces,’ he said. He noted that his stool was nearly black, and at times there was so much blood that he fainted in the bathroom.
His family sought help from three different doctors, who ran ‘all the tests you can imagine’ before he finally received the pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
By then, ‘it was too late.’
Early signs of pancreatic cancer include jaundice, stomach pain, back pain, weight loss, and floating stools
The majority of patients are over age 65, and just 0.2 percent are Richard’s age. The average age of diagnosis is 70
Richard said that he delayed seeing a doctor because he thought the symptoms were from stress, as he spent time volunteering and studying in college. ‘But [I] was terribly wrong,’ he said.
Pancreatic cancer is the third deadliest form of the disease in the US, with an overall five year survival rate of 12.5 percent.
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It’s been dubbed a ‘silent killer,’ as patients rarely suffer symptoms before it has spread to other areas of the body, where it is incurable.
In around 80 percent of cases, the disease is diagnosed at late stage, when just the chances of surviving more than five years drop to three percent.
Common symptoms include stomach pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, jaundice, dark urine, light-colored or floating stools, fatigue, and itching.
NCI estimates there were 64,000 cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed last year, along with more than 50,000 deaths.
The majority of patients are over age 65, and just 0.2 percent are Richard’s age. The average age of diagnosis is 70.
Richard noted that they were adopted from an orphanage in Ukraine as a young child, which he called his ‘best memory,’ so he does not know if he has a family history of cancer.
Despite the outlook, he has refused any kind of treatment, choosing to accept the circumstances. ‘Pain is part of my life,’ he said.
In the meantime, he likes to read and spend time outside, as well as watch documentaries. He does not have a bucket list and prefers to stick with his ‘shy and introvert life.’
At the time of writing, he said he was at home ‘drinking some kind of beer and relaxing. I like to appreciate those little moments tht life offers you.’
Richard said that as he accepts his diagnosis, he focuses on appreciating ‘small moments of happiness’ and keeping a positive outlook.
[I] told to myself to be happy [because] I deserved it,’ he said.
‘My only advice is to become the best version of yourself and to never give up [because] life is too short to be wasted.’
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