Features

November 17, 2009

Optimism aids in her recovery

Woman’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer helped her appreciate what she has and what she wants to do.

HARRY JACKSON JR. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS — A typical person hears pancreatic cancer as a euphemism for, “You’re going to die.”

But Beverly Sodemann sees it “as a time of discovery.”

“I didn’t know how many people loved me,” she said. “When I was recovering from chemo, my son Kevin (26 years old) slept on the floor of my bedroom for six months.”

Her voice quivered with emotion as she described her diagnosis and ordeal.

“When I got back to work, the teachers threw a welcome back party for me. I just didn’t know.”

Her brush with mortality taught her: “I retired, but I came back to work as a substitute; I realized, I love it here.”

She laughs about making time with friends. “I go out to lunch with friends so many times a week.”

She’s increasing time with her family. “In June, I’m taking my two grandkids to Disney World.”

She’s also planning a romantic trip to Hawaii with her husband, Brian.

“I’ve already done white-water rafting,” she laughed.

“She’s already made it,” said Dr. William Hawkins, her doctor at Siteman Cancer Center.

“Being upbeat is better,” said Hawkins, a specialist in liver and pancreas surgery. “We know there are remarkable powers in the brain and body. A positive outlook can help people recover; if you’re a defeatist, it’s easier to lose.”

Sodemann’s saga began in September 2008 when stomach pains prompted her to go to Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s emergency room.

After weeks of unsuccessful treatments for gallstones, doctors went inside and found the cancer. Her stage two tumor caused a backup of bile into her liver, mimicking gallstones.

The risky “Whipple” surgery followed. It’s risky because surgeons remove the cancer and anything it touches. Then they reconnected blood vessels from her liver, kidneys and intestines which converge in that area. “It takes hours,” said Hawkins.

November is National Pancreatic Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society expects 42,470 pancreatic cancer cases this year and about 35,000 deaths.

Six months of chemotherapy and Sodemann is back at full speed.

Hawkins said her recovery needs to be more common.

“We’re getting ahead of (pancreatic cancer), but it takes money,” he said. “To put it in perspective, for $100,000, I could have two more people here doing research.”

Since it’s primarily a disease for people older than 55, the aging population will see more of it.

Away from the halls of research, Brian Sodemann stood near his wife, Beverly, outside Monroe Elementary School in St. Charles, Mo., and recalled her ordeal.

“I was devastated,” he said. “She’s my life.”

Then, the tall, lean-muscled, scruffy-bearded, metal worker looked at her.

He teared. And they both smiled.

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