11:57 AM PDT on Thursday, June 15, 2006

JEAN ENERSEN / KING 5 News

There are more than 100 types of diseases known collectively as cancer. One of the most pernicious forms is pancreatic cancer because many patients don't have symptoms until their cancer has spread to much to be curable.

As a gastrointestinal doctor specializing in pancreatic cancer research, Dr. Teri Brentnall has dedicated her life's work to trying to change that. She herself is also a survivor who has faced many other challenges in life.

“I'm one of those people who likes to fully engage in life to the fullest extent,” she said. “It's important not to give into despair.”

Brentnall is a woman driven to find answers today, knowing that tomorrow can be unpredictable.

“I have almost like a cosmic kick in the pants,” she said. “I have real understanding that I have to get things accomplished. We're going to make a difference. Let's do it now.”

She has that rare combination of resilience and brilliance, and she has used personal challenges to push herself harder in her profession. 

“Working on a disease that is uniformly lethal makes me feel a little bit bad about taking a vacation,” she said.

“Pancreatic cancer is a terrible disease. It's incurable, it affects a lot of people and I thought if I can make a dent in this disease then I can make an important contribution.”

Her research is focused on high risk patients with strong family histories of pancreatic cancer.

Through a surveillance program, now in it's 10th year at the University of Washington Medical Center, Brentnall and her team feel they're closing in on a gene that may trigger the disease.

KING

A cancer survivor herself, Brentnall is using her breakthrough studies to help others fight the disease.

“We're right on the verge of making this gene discovery,” she said. “I think that within the next several months we'll be able to tell you exactly what that gene is.”

It's not everyday that you get a chance to duck a lethal bullet. One of the participants in the program is Benjamin Greer, a man who knows a thing or two about cancer. He’s an oncologist and, in what can only be called serendipitous; his office is in the very institute where Brentnall does her research.

Dr. Greer has a family history of pancreatic cancer.  He lost his father to it years ago, and last year his brother died from it. He is a prime example of somebody who is at markedly increased risk.

“When we put him under the surveillance program and began to study his pancreas we realized that it wasn't normal,” Brentnall said.

Greer opted to have a total pancreatectomy.

“Obviously with the pancreas gone you're an instant diabetic,” he said. “I always consider myself a voluntary diabetic since I volunteered to have the surgery. So when you looked at that data and say: ‘Do I have other things that I want to do in my life? I want to see my kids grow up, I want to be able to continue to contribute to the medical community, it was a pretty easy decision.”

Although he’s without his pancreas, he's done extraordinarily well. He still operates and he's still chief of gynecological surgery at the University of Washington.

Every one of Brentnall's 17 patients who has had the surgery are still living. Like her patients, surviving cancer as well as a lot of life's difficulties is, unfortunately, Brentnall’s other area of expertise. 

“I myself have had cancer --I’ve had breast cancer, which was diagnosed when I was in my early 30's, so I know what it's like to live in fear of your life,” she said. 

Brentnall’s bout with cancer came shortly after the birth of her oldest son, Adam. Her second son, Ben Nathan died when he was just six weeks old.

“As a physician, to lose a child is particularly difficult,” she said. “I tried to save my own child. My child died of SIDS.”

Her third son, Nick, was born with club feet.

“I’ve had a lot of difficult things occur in my life,” Brentnall said . “It gives me sort of a spiritual basis for the belief that there's more than just this in our world and I think that makes me a better doctor.”

Another difficult event for Brentnall was the murder of her research partner, Dr. Rodger Haggit. He was a world-renowned pathologist.

Several years ago, Haggit was shot to death at UW Medical Center by a disgruntled resident who also took his own life. Dr. Brentnall was on duty at the time

“Not only did I lose a scientific partner, but I lost a friend,” she said.

“All of those experiences have sort of taught me not to give in to sorrow, not to give in to despair.  But rather to pick yourself up and see what you can do to give back to the world.  My life is not all about sad events but rather it's about trying to build something positive and to leave a legacy.

“It also gives me a sense of urgency about what can I accomplish in my lifetime, what can I do that will make a difference because I don't know that I'm going to be here for another 30 years. I might not be.

“I can still find joy and I can make a different, I can pick myself up by my bootstraps and turn some lives around, maybe save some lives,” she said.

Dr. Brentnall is currently working on research to develop a blood test that would simplify the detection of pancreatic cancer as well as procedures that could lead to pancreatic transplants.