Working during Cancer Treatment
- Longtime NBA referee Tony Brown is back to work today amid ongoing treatments for stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
- Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease that is difficult to detect because symptoms including jaundice and weight loss typically present at a later stage in the cancer's development.
- A cancer diagnosis even stage four does not mean the end of your life. In fact, our experts say that prioritizing your overall wellbeing and continuing to do the things that you love can be very beneficial.
Brown, in his mid-50s, was diagnosed after seeing a doctor about potential food poisoning while on a work trip to Miami. Within a week of having tests reveal his pancreatic cancer, Brown began an aggressive treatment regimen that has included 14 rounds of chemotherapy each involving seven hours of infusions with three different drugs at a hospital followed by two more days of at-home treatment via a chest port.
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But despite his cancer diagnosis, Brown has been determined to return to the game he loves. So far in his career, he’s officiated 1,109 regular-season games and two NBA All-Star games, and he’ll be back to work for the first time in eight months on Monday. And though he’d rather be physically on the basketball courts, he’s been cleared to work in the NBA’s replay center a facility that uses modern technology to quickly review and amend play calls when needed.
His goal is to be back on the courts later this year, but he’s remained involved with the basketball world even during his absence by watching and studying the game. He’s also managed to keep himself in good shape so he’s ready to be back in action when the time is right.
"I haven't just been fighting for just me," Brown said. "I've felt like I'm fighting for everybody that has love and respect for me. And that's just makes you fight even harder."
And as far as his mindset goes, Brown is determined to remain optimistic no matter what his cancer journey looks like.
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"I haven't had time to sit around and be like 'Why me?' or 'What am I going to do?'" Brown said. "Me not fighting would have made me feel like I was letting people down. What kind of example was I going to be to my kids if I just laid in this bed and let it overtake me? I had to show my kids that there's nothing in life that you can't challenge and overcome if you have a positive mindset."
Pancreatic Cancer Detection
Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease that is difficult to detect because symptoms including jaundice and weight loss typically present at a later stage in the cancer's development. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Anirban Maitra, the co-leader of the Pancreatic Cancer Moon Shot at MD Anderson Cancer Center, explains what he typically sees when patients develop this disease.
"Because the pancreas is inside the abdomen often doesn't have symptoms that would tell you that something is wrong with your pancreas," he says. "By the time individuals walk into the clinic with symptoms like jaundice, weight loss, back pain or diabetes, it's often very late in the stage of the disease."
Detecting Pancreatic Cancer Early Is Crucial
Parents, siblings and children of someone with pancreatic cancer are considered high risk for developing the disease because they are first-degree relatives of the individual. PGVs (pathogenic germline variants) are changes in reproductive cells (sperm or egg) that become part of the DNA in the cells of the offspring. Germline variants are passed from parents to their children, and are associated with increased risks of several cancer types, including pancreatic, ovarian and breast cancers. Germline mutations in ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CKDN2A, PALB2, PRSS1, STK11 and TP53 are associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
Jessica Everett, a genetic counselor at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, encourages people in this category to look into possible screening options.
"If you're concerned about pancreatic cancer in your family, start by talking to a genetic counselor to learn more about your risk and what options you have," Everett said.
Living with Cancer
Life doesn't slow down for a cancer diagnosis, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Like we’ve seen in the case of Tony Brown, it's important to remember that a cancer diagnosis even stage four does not mean the end of your life. In fact, our experts say that prioritizing your overall wellbeing and continuing to do the things that you love can be very beneficial.
Dr. Geoffrey Oxnard, a thoracic oncologist, shared three things he tells his lung cancer patients about living with the disease:
- Don't act sick "You can't mope around," he said. "Do things, and in doing things, you will stay active."
- Don't lose weight "Eat what you need to do to not lose weight," he said. "I like my patients pleasantly plump."
- Don't be a tough guy "When you've got lung cancer, you need work with your doctor to keep your medical conditions under control."
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