Surviving Pancreatic Cancer

Roberta Luna is a  24-year pancreatic cancer survivor. When she was diagnosed in 2002, her doctors gave her months to live. But she was determined that the same disease that had already taken her father and uncle would not take her. In this episode, Roberta talks with host Alisyn Camerota about navigating a stage three diagnosis, the role of clinical trials, the diet and lifestyle changes she credits with her health, and the survivor's guilt that comes with outliving a prognosis. She also shares why she's never made a bucket list — and why she jumps out of a plane every April instead.

Listen to this conversation about hope, advocacy, and finding your "why."

PancChat is a collaboration between Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN, sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

What is PancChat Podcast with Alisyn Camerota?

The PancChat Podcast is a collaborative effort from Let’s Win Pancreatic Cancer and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), inspired by the long-running #PancChat Twitter/X chat.

Hosted by award-winning journalist Alisyn Camerota, each episode features conversations with leading researchers, clinicians, patients, and advocates who are shaping the future of pancreatic cancer care and research. Together, we deliver expert insights, personal journeys, and the latest breakthroughs—bridging the gap between science and lived experience.

Whether you’re a patient, caregiver, healthcare professional, or simply want to learn more, join us to connect, be inspired, and learn how you can help to accelerate progress in the fight against pancreatic cancer.

Julie Fleshman: Hi, I'm Julie Fleshman, President and CEO of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. On today's podcast, we will talk about living with pancreatic cancer.

Alisyn Camerota: Hi everyone, welcome to PancChat. I'm your host, Alisyn Camerota. Today's episode is very special because it focuses on something that we sadly do not get to talk about often, and that is surviving pancreatic cancer.

We also want to thank our sponsor, Revolution Medicines.

So let me introduce you to our guest, Roberta Luna.

She is a twenty-four-year pancreatic cancer survivor, and now she puts her experience and her expertise to great use as an active volunteer with the Orange County affiliate of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Roberta is also the executive producer and host of Living Hope, Your Journey with Pancreatic Cancer, a weekly half-hour podcast on OC Talk Radio. That podcast is dedicated to sharing real-life stories about those affected by pancreatic cancer and how they face the challenges of the disease.

Welcome to PancChat, Roberta.

Roberta Luna: Thank you so much for having me. I greatly appreciate it, and hopefully we'll do a good job for you today.

Alisyn Camerota: I'm sure you will, and as I said, I just don't get a chance to talk to many long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer, so I've really been looking forward to hearing your story. If you would, let's start at the beginning. Tell us about your diagnosis twenty-four years ago and what your prognosis was back then.

Roberta Luna: I was diagnosed on April 1, 2002 — April Fool's Day. It took me a while, actually, to get that diagnosis because I had lost my dad in 1998 to pancreatic cancer. It took them, I believe, six months to diagnose him, and then when they finally were able to go in and do surgery, it had spread everywhere, and they said there was nothing they could do for him. So we just had to take him home, make him comfortable, and do whatever we could with him at that point.

It was discouraging to hear, because I would have thought that by that year there would have been more they could do for cancer, but unfortunately, pancreatic cancer is a beast of its own — it's really hard not only to detect but then to treat.

It was at my dad's memorial service that I learned his mother had died from pancreatic cancer years earlier, when I was just a kid. I knew she had been sick, but didn't know what it was. I was eight or nine, so it didn't really have that same effect on me. But when we came home, I talked to my doctor and said, I just found out I've lost two family members to pancreatic cancer — what do I need to be looking for? I had heard Michael Landon's story a few years earlier, so I wanted to know what to look for, and I was basically told, "Don't worry about it, hon, you're too young and it's not hereditary." So from that point, I never really gave it another thought, because I wasn't feeling sick. I had no symptoms of anything.

Then in January 2002, my uncle — my dad's youngest brother — called me. He hadn't been feeling good over the holidays, but finally decided, as men can be stubborn sometimes, to go in and get a checkup, and they found that he also had pancreatic cancer. He called and told me the doctors told him it's pancreatic cancer, and they're not giving him much hope.

Like my dad, he passed away two weeks after diagnosis.

Alisyn Camerota: Oh my gosh. This is obviously a galloping disease. I hear these stories, but two weeks is the shortest I think I've heard.

Roberta Luna: I've heard from others where it's been shorter, but two weeks is just devastating. It doesn't give you very much time to do anything. You don't even have time to get out of that shock of the diagnosis. I hadn't been feeling well over the holidays myself, so I went to my doctor and said, I've just lost another family member to pancreatic cancer, and I haven't been feeling that great — I don't like to go to the doctor, I'm not a hypochondriac, but is there something I need to be looking for? Is there something I need to be doing?

Again, I was told, "Don't worry about it, hon, it's not hereditary, and you're too young." I was only in my early forties, and my doctor's attitude was, “Let's just wait and see what happens,” — and I don't wait and see very well. So I had to be more of an advocate for myself. At that time we wrote checks, so I took my checkbook with me and gave him a blank check and said, I need to really find out what's going on. I don't want to put my family through what we watched with my dad. My dad was over six feet tall, one hundred and seventy-five pounds, and we saw him dwindle down to seventy pounds. It was devastating to watch this very active man not be able to do anything.

So the doctor decided — probably to satisfy me — okay, we'll go ahead and start looking at things, do the usual blood tests, and then decided we'd need to do an ultrasound. He found something, then we did the EUS, then a needle biopsy, and I went back to see him on April 1.

You kind of know when they won't look at you in the face that it's not good news coming. He was walking in looking at the floor, sat down next to me, grabbed my hand, and said, "I'm sorry to tell you, but it is pancreatic cancer, and as you know because of your family, nobody survives this disease, but we will start treatment right away to hopefully give you a few good months."

We started chemo the following week.

Twenty-four years later, I'm still here, and I do see him occasionally and wave to him.

Alisyn Camerota: Roberta, what a story. That's incredible. Because your family had such rapid decline from diagnosis to death, what was your prognosis? Did your doctor give you a timeline of any kind?

Roberta Luna: He said most people don't go over six months. We had been told that with my dad as well, but my dad and my uncle went very quickly. We started treatment right away, and my issue is that I still actually have my tumor. It is dormant at the moment — it hasn't done anything since 2018. My last chemo was Christmas Eve in 2018. In 2015, my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer as well, so we brought her to live with us, and while I was doing treatment, she was here living with us and trying her best to help us out while dealing with her own cancer.

It's been quite a journey, and I think all of our journeys have been different. Every survivor I've talked to, every patient I've talked to — we have some similarities, but there's a lot of things that are really different. I'm really happy when I meet somebody. I met for the first time a stage one pancreatic cancer patient, and I had never met anybody stage one, so that was a thrill for me, and a thrill for them too, to learn that I was still here after so many years.

Alisyn Camerota: You are an inspiration. Help me understand — so many people in your family had pancreatic cancer: your mother, your father, your uncle. Did doctors determine there was a gene mutation, or why the family cluster?

Roberta Luna: No, we've done the genetic testing, and so far it's all come back inconclusive. We're going to be doing it again, because things do change over the years. What we found is my dad and his family had the more aggressive pancreatic cancer, my mom had the slower-growing kind, like Steve Jobs, and I'm in a small percentage that presents with both types of pancreatic cancer. It's been interesting in a way, the way my treatment has gone, because they also have to consider I only have one kidney. I've been kind of a test case for them in some ways, I'm not really sure.

I remember my doctor, after the diagnosis, picked up the phone and called somebody he knew from Hopkins and said, "I have this patient, I have no clue what to do with her."

Always fun.

But at least I was happy that he reached out, because he was honest with me — he'd never dealt with pancreatic cancer before, which is why he didn't initially think that was my situation. But once he found out, he did everything he could to move along quickly and get some treatment going. I surprised him, because he did not expect me to be around after six months.

Alisyn Camerota: Well, he had every reason not to expect you to be around after six months — that's the general trajectory of this disease.
But just to clarify, you had one kidney before pancreatic cancer?

Roberta Luna: Yes, I lost my kidney when I was three. It was not functioning at birth, so they took it when I was three years old. I've done well with just one kidney — you can live with one kidney, so I've never had really any issues. But it does affect treatment — I was on radiation for a little while, and it actually set me into kidney failure. I can't afford to lose the kidney I have, and apparently, I'm not really a good candidate for a transplant, so we needed to take a bit of a break and get my kidney back into a healthy, workable order, which I'm very thankful it has been doing.

Alisyn Camerota: I'm happy to hear that. So when you were diagnosed, what stage were you?

Roberta Luna: When I was first diagnosed, there was really no stage given — at least they didn't tell me a stage at that point. It wasn't until a few years later, when I was hearing about the different stages, that I learned mine was considered stage three.

I was so naive that I thought because I was diagnosed early I was stage one, so I argued with the doctor when she told me I was stage three.

She was very gentle with me but let me know she had a little more information than I did. Because of the location of my tumor, it's been inoperable — it's surrounded by veins and arteries, and the chemo is meant to pull the tumor away from them so they can go in and remove it. Mine is quite stubborn and likes to get back into the corners, back into the arteries, so it hasn't been able to be removed surgically yet. But with time, I've seen so many changes happen, and at some point I'm sure they'll be able to go in and get it, or maybe I'll be one of the lucky ones and it just disappears altogether.

Alisyn Camerota: It sounds like you might be one of those people for whom it just stays dormant. But do you know the difference between stage three and stage four? Did they clarify that?

Roberta Luna: Yes — stage three, my cancer is still within the pancreas. It hasn't metastasized outside the pancreas. If it had, then that's when I would be stage four.

Alisyn Camerota: So what do you think, after twenty-four years, is your secret to why you've survived when so many others haven't?

Roberta Luna: I get asked that a lot, and I really don't have an answer. I think one reason is early detection, but another is that God's just not ready for me. I've had people tell me that he doesn't want me right now, and that's perfectly fine — I'm more than happy to stay here for as long as I can.

Along with being a survivor, for me at least and a lot of others I've spoken with, there's something called survivor guilt. When somebody asks me that — why are you here, I lost my loved one, what is your secret, why are you still here when they passed and you haven't — it hurts, because I'm sad for them, but at the same time I don't have an answer. The only thing I know to say is I think it was caught early, and God is just not done with me here for whatever reason. He's just not ready for me to join him yet, which is fine — I'm in no hurry.

Alisyn Camerota: So in other words, for you, it feels sort of random, or by luck. But did you do anything out of the ordinary? Did you meditate? Did you do acupuncture? Did you change your diet? Did you change your lifestyle? Did you try some sort of experimental treatment? Was there anything that put you on a different course?

Roberta Luna: I think so, and thank you for asking. Up until about 2018, I had been doing pretty much traditional chemotherapy and traditional treatment. Then my oldest son gave me a gift card for Mother's Day to go to a holistic doctor. So I went, and she had treated others with pancreatic cancer with good success. She was not interested in doing away with traditional treatment — she wanted to add to it, which I was very thankful for, and to be honest, so were my doctors. They were glad that I was at least interested enough to do that. So we started yoga and meditation, which was difficult for me because my mind tends to wander, but it did help.

I think the biggest thing I can pinpoint — and some agree with me, and some don't — is the diet change. I didn't have a cup of coffee in the morning; I had a Dr. Pepper in the morning, that was my coffee. The first thing she said was, Dr. Pepper goes. I thought, " Oh no, I can't do that.”

But you'd be surprised what you can do — making the eating more organic, more fruits and vegetables, and less red meat, but not cutting things out totally, because if you're going to survive, you want to enjoy your life, and sometimes that includes food, right? I made those changes, especially with the yoga and gentler exercise, like walking.

Alisyn Camerota: I'm not a doctor, nor is Dr. Pepper — there's no medical degree behind Dr. Pepper, I can assure you. The fact that you're living proof that you changed your diet and things improved, I don't think that's a coincidence.

Roberta Luna: I don't either, and I've known other survivors who've made those changes too, and they're still surviving. When you try to get a doctor to pinpoint it, a lot of them don't want to commit to that. But that's my belief — when I made these changes is when I saw an improvement in my health, and my tumor became dormant. Sorry, Dr. Pepper, but goodbye, I guess.

Alisyn Camerota: You got a second opinion after Dr. Pepper. You just mentioned other survivors — tell us about that. Do you interact with other survivors? Tell us about some of the memorable people and stories you've heard.

Roberta Luna: That's hard, because it's almost like asking you to pick your favorite child. But I have met a lot of survivors. It took a while — the first few years, I wasn't really meeting many. I did meet a woman named Peggy Kessler, who had been diagnosed the year before me, and for me, that was really great, finding somebody who had been surviving longer.

But I hear so many great stories when I talk to people, not just on the podcast but even before the podcast — I'm involved with the Survivor Care Network, and other survivors get together to meet and talk. I think hearing their stories of resilience and courage and hope is something we all share. It's not just celebrating the years — though it's important to celebrate those — a lot of them were told, like me, that they only had a few weeks or a few months to live, and to see them now attending their children's wedding or graduation, which they thought would never happen, gives so much hope. It's still an inspiration to me, even hearing someone new come in and share their story like I've shared. A lot of our stories are different, and a lot are the same in a lot of ways, too. I think it's important because you learn what's important in life. You always hear the phrase "stop and smell the roses," and I think that's really true — you have to take those few moments and really appreciate that you're getting up, you're moving, because so many others aren't able to do that.

Alisyn Camerota: You did answer the question. About those survivor stories, because they're so important to people, I know that Let's Win has survivor stories on their website. Can people also find some of these stories on your podcast?

Roberta Luna: Yes. In fact, I did a Let's Win story when they first started years ago — I was one of their first few survivors — and they just redid another one for me for Mother's Day, which was really nice. I just had two of their guests on this week. So it's great to hear all these survivor stories and see them and see how well they look. I'm always amazed when I look at them and know what they've gone through — if you look at them, you wouldn't think they have cancer or had cancer.

Alisyn Camerota: So nice to hear. On that note, I think about this with my husband too — once you get this diagnosis, even if you survive twenty-four years as you have and have this wonderful quality of life, how does your life change? Can your life go back to normal?

Roberta Luna: For one, there's a new normal. Normal is different for everybody, but for me, the answer is no — I didn't go back, and to be honest, I don't want to go back.

Alisyn Camerota: Why wouldn't you go back?

Roberta Luna: Sorry, it gets a little emotional sometimes. I know people think I'm crazy when I say this, but getting pancreatic cancer wasn't the worst thing to happen to me. I wish I could have changed that for my family, because I saw what they went through, and I wouldn't want anybody to go through this. But it has changed me in a positive way — not that I was a bad person before, but it gave me a new outlook on life: relationships, priorities, things that truly matter. There are things I wish my family didn't have to experience, but I can't change it, and I wouldn't want to.

Pancreatic cancer has really brought some incredible people into my life. I wouldn't be talking to you right now if it wasn't for pancreatic cancer. I wouldn't be hosting a podcast, which I didn't even have a clue would happen. I wouldn't have become an advocate for others. I've been lucky enough to go to the Capitol and talk to representatives about the importance of funding, and to share my story — and when I see that I've brought tears to their eyes and they're really interested, that's something I wouldn't have been able to do had it not been for pancreatic cancer. I'm sorry, I hope that doesn't sound too weird.

Alisyn Camerota: It doesn't sound weird. I think you have a beautiful perspective — that there is this multidimensionality I have found to grief, in addition to a very devastating diagnosis. Of course, it takes a long time to get there, but there can be a richness to life even after something devastating, and I appreciate you talking about that. But how is your life — I'm glad to hear you wouldn't go back, but for other people, even if they survive, it is a life-changing experience.

Roberta Luna: It is, and you have to stop and consider things. I hope this isn't too much information, but when you're making plans to go somewhere, it's not like before — you can't just grab your jacket, purse, and whatever and walk out the door. There are other things you have to look at: how are you feeling that day, are you having stomach issues? There's a great app — I talk about it, and I'll have to share it at some point — where you can actually put in where you're going and see where a bathroom might be, because believe it or not, that can be very important depending on what the day before was like, or what's going on that day.

Alisyn Camerota: Do you want to share the name of that app right now?

Roberta Luna: I'd have to look it up again, because I can't remember it off the top of my head — but I'm happy to send that to you. It's just something you can use if you're out shopping somewhere; it'll at least give you an idea. It's almost like when you have kids — you always pack an extra bag just in case they need something. Well, for us, there's always an extra bag in the trunk of the car just in case, because — not to be too graphic — you just never know how things are going to end up. Some days, certain foods bother you; other days, they don't. So you have to be prepared differently, and sometimes it's hard, because you can make a plan to go somewhere, and that plan might change last minute, and it's hard for people to understand that you were feeling great this morning, you were feeling great when you made the plans, but things aren't working out so well now.

I try really hard not to give in to that — I like to keep score, apparently, and I feel like as long as I'm always ahead, it's good. But there are times I've learned I have to listen to my body and do what it's telling me, so I'm not putting my family through more than they need to.

Alisyn Camerota: Are you on maintenance medication?

Roberta Luna: Right now, no. I do have some supplements that my holistic doctor has put me on, but so far, nothing for maintenance for the tumor. As long as it's dormant, we're good, and it can continue to stay that way.

Alisyn Camerota: What advice has your holistic doctor given you? You said you've done yoga and meditation, which is obviously challenging for you and for many people. Are there supplements, vitamins, or anything else she's shared?

Roberta Luna: Yes — I take a sublingual vitamin D, because apparently my vitamin D was very, very low, which I've talked to a few other survivors about, and I've heard the same from them — that tends to be something we share, low vitamin D. I'm on vitamin B, I get B12 injections monthly, vitamin C, and there are some extra herbs and things for my kidney that help keep it strong and help with infection.

The thing we really haven't agreed on is that she wants everything to be positive. I love murder mysteries and different things like that, and she's not really thrilled that I read some of these books or watch some of these shows like Snapped and things like that. But maybe that's the paralegal in me — I've been a paralegal for years, so maybe I just need to see these kinds of things. We do disagree on some of my entertainment habits, but I've lived this long with it, so it can't be too bad.

Alisyn Camerota: I love a good crime story, I'm with you. So what is the best piece of advice you would give to somebody, or their family, who has just gotten this devastating diagnosis?

Roberta Luna: It's really hard. I guess most importantly, people need to know they're not alone. A diagnosis can feel so overwhelming, but statistics don't define anyone's future, so don't listen too much to the statistics. Take a deep breath, give yourself permission to process what you're hearing and feeling. Don't assume the first thing you hear is the final answer. If I had given up when they told me to go home and put my house in order — my house is in somewhat order, but still not a hundred percent — but don't listen to the statistics. If you have to look at a statistic, look at the survival statistic, not the one for those who aren't surviving. Seek out experts, ask questions, consider a second opinion, a third opinion, a fourth opinion if you don't like what you're hearing. I know a lot of doctors don't want to hear me say that, but I think it's very important to get a medical team that's on your side, that knows what you want, and wants to fight with you, not against you.

Explore all the treatment options. Look at clinical trials — clinical trials are so important, and I know a lot of people are fearful of them, but there's nothing really to be fearful of. That's how we get our drugs, through clinical trials, so please consider that. Most importantly, just know that you're not alone, and there's an entire community of survivors. You can go to pancan.org, or you can go to letswinpc.org. Hirschberg has a great foundation as well. There's so many out there — find the one that fits you and get the help that you need, and just know that there is hope out there.

I think if I can share one thing — it's a favorite saying of mine that I really like, and I'm probably going to get it slightly wrong, but: there are two most important days in your life — the day you're born, and the day you find out why. For me, I think pancreatic cancer helped me discover my why: to offer hope, advocate for patients, and help others navigate a journey I never expected to take.

Alisyn Camerota: Beautiful, Roberta, that is beautiful. I love that saying. But Roberta, you're such an inspiration. Your story — just knowing that you're living, and you're living with gratitude and hope — gives everybody else inspiration and hope. I really appreciate this. Anything else you want to say?

Roberta Luna: Yes — a lot of us make a bucket list for some reason. Don't wait, don't just make that bucket list — go out and do something. It took me a while, but I've always wanted to get a tattoo, and I finally got one celebrating my tenth anniversary.

Alisyn Camerota: What does it look like?

Roberta Luna: People tell me it actually looks like my mother, which I thought was funny, because the artist never saw her. I drew up a little picture of an angel with angel wings on a crescent moon, with a purple ribbon running through it, and showed him, and he did a great job. But people who knew my mom when she was young, because she had reddish hair, thought, wow, that looks like your mom.

I also took up skydiving, which people think I'm crazy for doing. Every year in April, I go skydiving. My husband has gone with me, my youngest son has gone with me, but we try to take a new survivor each time — someone who's never jumped before. I've jumped eleven times, and I'm looking forward to jumping next year on my twenty-fifth survivorversary. You're welcome to join me, even just to watch.

Alisyn Camerota: No, thank you, Roberta — I feel like I have enough stress and risk in my life. What's so funny about this is you've had this brush with mortality, and then you decide to go skydiving.

Roberta Luna: I know it probably sounds weird, but I feel like when you're standing out there ready to go — I mean, I am tied to somebody else, but there's no net out there, there's nothing else, just this other person and me — there's something so serene about it. It's hard to explain to somebody who's never done it, but it's the closest I think I can get to God without actually getting there. I also feel like if I can jump out of a plane, pancreatic cancer can't touch me — I can handle whatever comes my way.

Alisyn Camerota: Wow, that's really cool, Roberta.

Roberta Luna: If you don't want to jump, we have a lot of people who just come and watch. They don't want to jump, but they come and watch.

Alisyn Camerota: Even that sounds stressful to me, but yes, being on the ground watching sounds a lot better than being up there and jumping. I may take you up on that.

Roberta Luna: That would be awesome, thank you.

Alisyn Camerota: Thanks, Roberta, for sharing your story. I really love hearing it, and I know it will help a lot of people and give people hope. I really appreciate you being here.

Roberta Luna: Thank you for giving me the opportunity. I really do appreciate it, and thank you for all that you're doing to help us bring awareness as well.

Alisyn Camerota: Thank you. I also want to thank our sponsor, Revolution Medicines, and to thank all of you for tuning in today. I'm Alisyn Camerota, and I'll see you next time on PancChat.

Cindy Gavin:

Hi, I’m Cindy Gavin, CEO and co-founder of Let’s Win. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, navigating this journey can feel overwhelming. But you don't have to do it alone.

Be sure to explore resources available to patients and caregivers through Let’s Win and PanCAN. You can find PanCAN at PanCAN dot org and Let’s Win at LetsWinPC dot org. Our sites continuously post stories of hope, resilience, and survivorship from people around the country and around the world.

Together, Let's Win and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network are committing to guiding you every step of the way and offering support, information, and much-needed hope.

In our next two episodes, we'll take a look back at season one of the PancChat Podcast, diving into what we have learned, and get a sneak peek at season two.

We hope you'll follow PancChat to get new episodes delivered twice a month right in your podcast feed. PancChat is available on all major platforms wherever you get your podcasts.