By Chris Bavender
In 2016, Rob Beeler’s sister, Jenelle Callahan, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“Unfortunately, Jenelle was diagnosed very late, which is not uncommon with pancreatic cancer due to the vague symptoms,” Beeler said. “By the time they determined it was cancer, it was too late for her.”
Her death came just three weeks after her diagnosis at age 52.
One of seven kids, Jenelle was the closest in age to Beeler.
“My mom says that we spent so much time together when I was a baby that I would cry whenever my sister left. In high school, I remember Jenelle taking me to my first concert,” Beeler said. “Jenelle was a beautiful person who was always taking care of other people, and you rarely saw her without a smile on her face.”
Three years later, in 2019, Beeler was diagnosed with the same disease. It started a year earlier when he began to have stomach and back pain. He was also losing weight.
“I thought the stomach pain was stress related, and as a runner I have dealt with back pain from time to time. None of these symptoms seemed too abnormal or serious. This is a common issue with detecting pancreatic cancer,” Beeler said. “My doctors thought I had acid reflux and had me try several different medications to address that. When those didn’t work, my wife said, ‘Tell them you want a scan and blood work.’ This is when they found the cancer.”
When the call came with his diagnosis, Beeler said he was in “total shock.”
“My daughter was getting married five months later, and my mind immediately went to, ‘Will I be there for her wedding?’” Beeler said. “It was incredibly hard to process, though luckily, my wife took over and helped us focus on getting treatment and coming up with a plan to fight this disease.”
When Beeler was first diagnosed, his tumor was inoperable because it was entwined with a key blood vessel. He went through eight rounds of chemotherapy and a week of radiation to try to shrink the tumor so doctors could operate on it.
“During my treatment they did genomic testing on my tumor and found I had a rare condition (known as MSI-High) that meant I was eligible for immunotherapy. This is a new approach that uses your immune system to fight the cancer,” he said. “This treatment was not available when my sister was diagnosed, and in fact is only available to a very small percentage of pancreatic cancer patients today. I believe that this treatment was a game changer, as it almost immediately eliminated all my pain, and when they did a biopsy on my tumor, they found that all the cancer cells were dead.”
Since 2019, Beeler has participated in the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Indianapolis PurpleStride with his team, the Jay Walkers, named in honor of his late sister. The event is the main fundraising event for Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, or PanCan. Money raised is used to advance scientific research and to provide resources for patients, caregivers, and medical professionals. This year Beeler and his wife, Colleen, are PurpleStride chairs.
“I think there is very little awareness of pancreatic cancer and how deadly it is. For people that have been exposed to someone with pancreatic cancer, they know that the odds are not good, and the results are often not positive,” Beeler said. “Without research into cancer treatment, this would not have been available to help me. This is why research and scientific advancements are so important. More research is needed to find ways to make this kind of treatment available to more patients.
“There is some incredible progress in treating cancer, and I truly believe that we can turn the tables on this disease if we continue to focus on new treatments.”
This year’s PurpleStride is April 30 at White River State Park. To join a team or donate, visit pancan.org.
Pancreatic cancer symptoms
More than 60,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, and it will be fatal for 50,000, including 1,070 Hoosiers, making it the third-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Symptoms include:
- Back or stomach pain
- Bloating
- Change in stool
- Jaundice
- Nausea
- Recent onset diabetes
- Trouble digesting food/loss of appetite
- Weight loss
If you or anyone you know is diagnosed, they can call Patient Central at 877-2-PANCAN for free personalized resources.
To learn more about pancreatic cancer, visit pancan.org/facing-pancreatic-cancer.
