Marathon runner with 'perfect' blood test results diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer

fisky wrote:

My wife, age 75, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two months ago. I've spent a great deal of time researching this disease since then.

While there are genes that increase risk of pancreatic cancer, my wife has been tested for them and she doesn't have them so there has to be other factors. We are traveling to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston next week for a second opinion on treatment. She has a relatively rare pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, which has a very slightly better outlook than the traditional pancreatic cancer.

There are no blood tests to find pancreatic cancer and it doesn't present symptoms until it reaches late stages. The only tests are CT, PET, and similar scans, which aren't usually done until the late stage. Fortunately, my wife had an MRI for an unrelated issue that found her cancer in an earlier stage.

There is also an alternative theory that many cancers are a metabolic disease. That is, it's related to high sugar, unhealthy fats, and processed foods. Type 2 diabetes is a pancreatic disease. In a fit, healthy marathoner, such as Mr. Rawlinson, diabetes is most likely genetic or an indication that something is wrong in the foods he's eating or how they are being processed by the body.

For runners, here is my takeaway.

Running is not a panacea for cancer. With advancing age, it becomes increasingly important to take steps to reduce inflammation, reduce cortisol levels, reduce sugar consumption, reduce unhealthy oils, fried foods, and processed foods. It's also more important to get periodic testing beyond the basic blood tests.