Like many forms of cancer, pancreatic cancer rarely announces its arrival loudly. It’s far more likely to send a series of signals, some easy to ignore, to make it’s presence known. That was the case for Azailean Barnes, who, late in 2003, began experiencing back pain at night. Lying in bed, it was easy to blame the pain on doing too much holiday preparation.

But soon after, a second sign appeared: she noticed a yellow tinge to her eyes. An indicator of jaundice, it alarmed Barnes and her family. By early January, 2004, after growing ever weaker and more ill, she was brought to an emergency room near her home in Saginaw, Michigan.

“At first, the early tests seemed to indicate a problem with my gall bladder,” Barnes recalls. But further tests confirmed a mass in the bile duct, causing blockage between the duct and the liver. A PCT tube was inserted to drain the fluid buildup. “That was a very uncomfortable time,” she recalls. “I was in a great deal of pain from the tube, and was quite fearful too.” After a lengthy hospital stay, she returned home, only to return a few days later, dehydrated and completely without appetite. They diagnosed pancreatic cancer. “That’s when the hospital recommended I go to U-M for surgery. I remember one nurse saying to me, ‘you need to go straight to Ann Arbor.”

During her first visit to the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Multidisciplinary Pancreatic Clinic, Barnes’ more tests were performed, and a biopsy confirmed the presence of a tumor. “I was so afraid. I thought I was going to die, and very soon. You hear about cancer and you think it takes you on out – I thought that would be the case for me. But after meeting with my doctor, I grew to have so much faith in him, and soon, I began to feel more positive about my disease.” Barnes’ tumor was inoperable, so the U-M team advocated a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Her regimen consisted of 15 consecutive days of radiation, followed by about a half-dozen chemotherapy treatments, all of which was completed by September.

During a follow-up visit in December, 2004, Barnes reflected on the experience: “I’ve gone from being full of fear to finding peace with my cancer. When I was first hospitalized, I needed my sister to stay with me nearly around-the-clock. But now, I’m not afraid to be alone – I can do things for myself again. I’m pain free, and getting back to my regular routine.” The ordeal resulted in a weight loss of more than 100 pounds for Barnes, but she considers that “one of the blessings,” feeling that she’s much better off at her current weight.

“I’m back to my normal activities – going to church, shopping, cooking (and eating!), and doing light housework. Everyone told me I’d bounce back, but it was hard to believe after feeling so tired and drained, and having no appetite. During treatment, everything tasted funny – even water! Now that’s back to normal too.”

Barnes credits her strong faith in God, as well as the medical care she’s received, with her current place among cancer survivors. “Prayer, scripture reading, and trusting in God took away the fear for me,” she says. “Some people don’t believe in God, but I do, and along with the doctors and medicine, that belief has carried me through. You need to have faith, even in the hard times.”

Having a strong support network around her also made a difference for Barnes. “They drove me back and forth from Saginaw for radiation and chemotherapy treatments and took care of so many things for me – everyone’s been so supportive.” Meeting other cancer survivors also helped Barnes. “Through my church I met survivors of other types of cancer– they told me similar stories about what they went through with feeling tired, losing their appetites, etc. They made me understand that I wasn’t alone.”

So what’s next for Azailean Barnes? “I’m doing well and I’m not afraid anymore. Cancer has brought me closer to God – another blessing to me. I’m back to my regular routine, and I feel like I’m doing great.” She’ll return to U-M in three-month intervals for check-ups to monitor her condition. In the meantime, she says, “I feel relieved and at peace.”

To learn more about the Multidisciplinary Pancreatic Clinic at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center or to make a clinic appointment, call the Cancer AnswerLine at 1-800-865-1125 or click here.

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