A North Carolina woman who was diagnosed with life-threatening cancer while in excellent physical shape is urging people not to ignore the changes in her body.
Holly Shawyer was training for a marathon in May 2023 when she began experiencing severe stomach pain, which she understandably dismissed as a virus.
Although doctors believed he only had a stomach ulcer, Shawyer’s pain became so intense that he had to abandon the marathon. He refused to take no for an answer and sought out a specialist.
Further scans revealed a grapefruit-sized tumor on the tail of his pancreas. In December, he was diagnosed with stage 1 pancreatic cancer, the third-deadliest cancer in the United States.
Holly Shawyer, 35, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year despite being fit and training for a marathon.
“I’ve always been very health conscious – I eat well and exercise regularly. I rarely got sick, maybe once every few years I’d get a stomach bug,” Shawyer said.
“Getting diagnosed at age 30 was like hitting a huge pause button on my life,” the math teacher said.‘I was in very good health before this.’
However, Ms Shawyer is one of the lucky few patients who are diagnosed at stage one, before the cancer spreads and becomes incurable.
Pancreatic cancer, which kills eight in ten patients within five years, has been dubbed a “silent killer” as most cases are detected at later stages due to a lack of symptoms.
In stages three and four, the disease becomes virtually untreatable, with a survival rate of just three percent. Meanwhile, in stage one, the odds are 15 times higher, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
The diagnosis came as an even bigger shock to Ms Shawyer as she maintained a healthy lifestyle and avoided risk factors such as smoking, although the exact cause of the disease is largely unknown.
This gave him “a lot of hope” as doctors believe his prognosis is much better than that of most patients with the disease.
She added: “I’ve always been very health conscious – I watch my diet and exercise regularly. I rarely got sick, maybe once every few years I got a stomach bug.”
Now, she urges others to get a medical checkup at the first sign of trouble and avoid putting off vital care.
Ms. Shawyer completed 12 rounds of chemotherapy. During each round, she spent one day in the hospital and another 46 hours on chemotherapy at home.
She said that while she was “mentally prepared” for the diagnosis, as doctors had given her a one in three chance that the tumor was cancerous, “I don’t think there was any way I could have mentally prepared myself for the impact that this diagnosis and chemotherapy would have on me.”
Ms. Shawyer is also one of millions of young, fit Americans who were forced to put their lives on hold because of a cancer diagnosis, despite avoiding smoking, drinking and unhealthy diets.
“It was very hard at times to go through this physically demanding treatment and also feel like I was missing out on things in life,” she said.
‘I had friends who got engaged, got pregnant, got promoted, and gave birth during my treatment, and it was really hard to feel happy for them and celebrate them, and feel sad for myself because I had no idea when I would be able to experience those things.’
Most cases of pancreatic cancer are diagnosed after it has spread, leading to a low survival rate. However, Ms Shawyer is one of the few people with stage one, which raises her chances of survival to 44 per cent.
Ms. Shawyer is now cancer-free and working to complete her to-do list. “The most important thing I’ve learned from all of this is to make the most of the time you have while you know you have it,” she said.
In July, Shawyer was declared cancer-free, though doctors are monitoring her closely to make sure it doesn’t recur. However, she notes that life is not what it was before her diagnosis.
“Just because someone is ‘cancer free’ or has finished treatment doesn’t mean their life automatically goes back to normal,” she said. “I still have many side effects from chemotherapy that affect me even a month later, such as hair loss and nerve problems in my hands and feet.”
“When you’re going through treatment, it’s like you’re in survival mode and all you can focus on is getting through the physical aspect.”
“Now that I’ve completed treatment, I feel like I can finally begin to process the emotional and mental toll this has taken on me.”
Ms Shawyer is now working through her bucket list with a “greater desire to not waste a single moment” and encourages others to be their “biggest advocate” when it comes to their health.
“The most important thing I’ve learned from all this is that you have to make the most of the time you have while you know you have it,” he said.