A native of Pennsylvania, Rob Caruano was living and working in New York City in December of 2021 just before Christmas when in the middle of the night he was awakened by an excruciating pain he thought was in his stomach. The next morning, he went to an urgent care, but because of COVID, the healthcare system was overloaded and the urgent care had people on beds in hallways. The staff told him his only option was to go to an emergency room.
Rob went home, got online, and thought he could easily make an appointment with an ER, but they, too, were overwhelmed. It was two days later when Rob got an appointment with a physician. When Rob finally met with the doctor, Rob was told what he had was probably pancreatitis. The doctor asked that Rob get his blood test, which he did that same day. His enzyme levels were five times the normal range, which confirmed he had had a pancreatic attack. Doctors assumed Rob had a gallstone, but suggested he get an ultrasound, just to be safe. It revealed a small, 0.1cm opening in his duct. The doctor said something wasn’t right because that dialation would not normally exist three weeks after a gallstone was discovered. He said it would have moved by then, which is why he suggested Rob get an MRI. However, when Rob contacted a gastroenterologist to prescribe an MRI, he actually refused to do it. He instead wanted to remove my gall bladder. Rob insisted on an MRI, which the doctor agreed on the condition that the doctor removed Rob’s gall bladder. Rob agreed to have the surgery done.
The MRI was performed, and show Rob had a mass on his pancreas. The doctor called Rob to admit to Rob that was wrong. Rob still had to undergo a biopsy, which made it official that he had pancreatic cancer. By the time he was diagnosed, it was three months after his original symptoms, leaving him concerned the cancer had spread to other parts of his body.
Initially when Rob was diagnosed as metastatic Stage IV, because spots were identified on his liver that doctors thought be cancerous. If those spots were cancerous, then doctors would perform the surgery to remove Rob’s pancreas. Thankfully, the spots were determined to not be cancerous, meaning doctors could remove the pancreas. Rob received more good news when he learned the Whipple procedure used to remove his pancreas would be limited in scope, allowing his stomach and intestines. They ended up removing half of Rob’s pancreas and his spleen.
Next, in order to prevent recurrence, Rob was put on a six-month chemotherapy regimen. He took fulfirinox every other week over the six months. Rob never actually vomited, but he was constantly nauseous. Three-quarters of the way through the six months, he switched to a regimen featuring ativan, which enabled him to finish up the regimen without complications.
COVID made its presence felt at the beginning of Rob Caruano’s journey, and did so again during treatment. While hospitalized, Rob could only have one visitor, which most of the time was his husband, who was also Rob’s primary caregiver.
With the surgery in his past, Rob says his health is very close to the way it was before his diagnosis. He says he has some neuropathy issues, but they do not affect his lifestyle.
Additional Resources:
Support Group;
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: https://www.pancan.org