Patient Stories

Pancreatic cancer is a tough disease to fight and oftentimes patients are diagnosed in late stages of the disease – making successful treatment more difficult to accomplish. We fight pancreatic cancer as a team, giving you the best hope for recovery.

Our pancreatic surgery team are pioneers in surgical techniques and we were the first in Michigan to use NanoKnife, a pioneering technology used to destroy inoperable pancreatic tumors.

Our Heroes

Dusty's story

Determined to do everything in his power to beat the odds of surviving pancreatic cancer, Dusty found a surgeon at Henry Ford who successfully performed the Whipple procedure, a highly complex surgery to remove tumors in the pancreas.

Margo's story

When pancreatic cancer struck Margo Chilcott, 79, she made a choice: No chemotherapy. No radiation. Only surgery. And her doctor supported her.

Ondina's story

Ondina Garcia was afraid of doctors, but caring physicians pushed to find a diagnosis and successfully treated her pancreatic cancer. Ondina defied the odds for survival.

Harry's story

The morning after Harry received his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, he woke up determined to beat it — and determined to live to walk his two daughters down the aisle one day. Now he’s sharing what gave him strength to keep going during treatment to offer hope to others.

Sheila's story

Surviving a cancer diagnosis is cause for celebration. Sheila Kasselman, a pancreatic cancer survivor, took celebrating survivorship to another level by destroying 3D-printed replicas of her tumor.

Nicole's story

When diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Nicole Tringer explored all her options when it came to cancer care and treatment. She put her trust in the team at the Henry Ford Cancer and she is now a three year survivor, celebrating survivorship by "crushing cancer."