(Radio Iowa) – A central Iowa man who survived one of the deadliest forms of cancer is offering his story of hope on this World Pancreatic Cancer Day (Thursday). Andy Lyons, a retired commercial photographer from Johnston, will turn 72 next week and realizes he was one of the fortunate few to beat the disease. In the past two years, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer has risen from 11 to 13-percent, which may not sound like much, but Lyons says it’s significant. “Any uptick is fabulous. There seem to be more cases being diagnosed now, the treatments are getting better. There’s just so much progress being made rapidly, which is encouraging,” Lyons says. “Still, it’s only 13-percent, but still, it’s 13-percent! It’s twice as much as it was 10 years ago, so that’s good.”

Lyons was diagnosed in October of 2021 and had surgery the following month. After 12 rounds of chemotherapy, his doctors declared him cancer-free in October of 2022, which he calls a testament to the importance of cancer screenings and early detection. “That’s the key, if you find it when it’s in its infancy, chances for surgery are much better, chances for survival are tenfold better,” Lyons says. “When mine was discovered, everyone says, ‘Oh, what stage was it at?’ because everyone hears stage four, stage five, which is not good at all. Mine was stage — (puff of breath) — it was just starting.”

Pancreatic cancer is lethal because it’s often not found until it’s spread to other areas, so Lyons knew he’d need to act quickly once the tumor was discovered. “I was diagnosed on a Wednesday, and met with a surgeon on Friday, and 10 days later, I had it removed robotically, so it’s less invasive and, a quicker recovery,” Lyons says. “It was not a fun surgery, but it wasn’t too bad.” Lyons lost at least seven close relatives across three generations to pancreatic cancer, including his grandmother, at least two of her sisters, his mother, an aunt, an uncle, and his brother. Some 25 years ago, Lyons enrolled in a familial pancreatic cancer study and he’s gone through extensive testing every year since. He had 22 years of negative tests before being diagnosed. He offers Iowans a warning.  “If you have a history, a family history, of pancreatic cancer, that’s a good key to be alert and get things checked out,” he says.

The symptoms of this type of cancer are often vague and can be mistaken for something else. That includes things like abdominal pain and back pain, changes in stool, yellowing skin, weight loss, appetite loss, and a feeling of being full after only eating a little food. Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. It’s estimated 600 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Iowa this year and more than 500 of them will die from it.