- Key points from today’s guests:

Chris Barreca, pancreatic cancer patient

• Chris woke up one night in the summer of 2020 to an unbelievable pain in his abdomen.
• He let it go for about a week, but he started turning yellow and jaundiced.
• He was told to go to the emergency room – and during the height of the pandemic – that was a challenge.
• But the ER told him immediately to go to The University of Kansas Cancer Center, where they were able to treat this father of six.
• He had a complicated surgery that was successful, and Chris finished chemotherapy for treatment of pancreatic cancer a few years ago.
• He sees Dr. Kasi every few months for tests and fortunately, there have been no recurrent signs of cancer.

Dr. Anup Kasi, medical oncologist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center

• Pancreatic cancer can be hard to catch in the early stages because the symptoms are so common – weight loss, loss of appetite, fatigue.
• Jaundice is a clearer symptom, but it presents itself in later stage pancreatic cancer.
• Currently, there is no standard screening system for pancreatic cancer.
• About 10-15 percent of pancreatic cancer can be genetic. In the case of Chris, he did not have any underlying genetic mutation that would be disease-causing.
• The complicated surgery – called the Whipple procedure – removed part of the pancreas, gallbladder, and small intestine.
• Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive cancer, and we want to be aggressive with our treatment approach.
• There are new clinical trials underway for pancreatic cancer vaccines.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• The hospital COVID count for this week is steady at 24 inpatients.
• Two new U.S. cases of Alaska pox and bubonic plague have made headlines.
• These seem to be isolated cases related to potential interaction with rodents and possibly pets.
• Make sure flea and tick medication for pets is up to date.
• There has been no human-to-human spread of either disease.

Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 8 a.m. is the next Open Mics with Dr. Stites. It’s Valentine’s Day and that means it is time to delve into the science of love – the surprising health benefits of a loving relationship.

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