At the Bedside: Pancreatic cancer patient ‘back on track’ after UTHealth Houston clinical trial therapy shrinks tumor

By Courtney Saenz, UTHealth Media Relations
October 12, 2023

Thanks to the clinical trial led by Nirav Thosani, MD, Demetrios Stroubakis, 55, is back to working as an engineer and spending time with his wife and kids.

Thanks to the clinical trial led by Nirav Thosani, MD, Demetrios Stroubakis, 55, is back to working as an engineer and spending time with his wife and kids. (Photo courtesy of Demetrios Stroubakis)

Demetrios Stroubakis, 55, thought he was having a gallbladder attack when he arrived at the emergency room in August 2021 with jaundice. Instead, he was shocked to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“I was floored. I consider myself to be relatively healthy, so I wasn’t expecting it,” Stroubakis said. “I was fortunate my wife Shannon recognized the jaundice conditions. She rushed me to the emergency room and after several scans and a tissue biopsy over the course of few days, I got the bad news.”

The pancreas produces enzymes to help digest food and makes the hormone insulin, which controls blood sugar. About 64,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, and nearly 51,000 will die from it. Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and has a five-year survival rate of 12.5%.

Read the full story featuring Dr. Nirav Thosani…

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