Extraordinary Cancer Survivor Turns 100

A few weeks ago, a very special lady celebrated her 100th birthday.Her name is Mary Cipolla, and she is an inspiration to people who have been diagnosed with cancer, especially those in later life.

Ms. Cipolla was 89 years old when she underwent one of the most extensive operations in surgery, known as the Whipple procedure. The Whipple, used to treat pancreatic, upper intestinal and bile duct cancers, involves the removal of parts of four organs and reconstruction of the digestive tract.

Ms. Cipolla has a very positive mind, and that has led to her long-term survival, said her surgeon, Dr. Gerard Aranha of Loyola University Health System. She lives independently with her 83-year-old sister in Roselle. She drove until she was 95 and still helps with the cooking, cleaning and shopping. She struggles with her short-term memory and needs to use a walker, but otherwise is in remarkably good health. She looks 25 years younger. She says, "I don't let the years bother me."

Ms. Cipolla was showing jaundice and weight loss when she was diagnosed with cancer in a structure near the pancreas called the ampulla of vater. The only hope for a cure was a Whipple procedure. The Whipple procedure, also called a pancreatoduodenectomy, is named after the first American surgeon who performed the surgery. It involves removal of the head of the pancreas, the gall bladder, the duodenum (first section of the small intestine), the common bile duct and sometimes part of the stomach. The surgeon then reconstructs the digestive tract. The operation typically takes six or seven hours, and the patient spends a week or two in the hospital. It is possibly the most demanding procedure in abdominal oncologic surgery.

Dr. Aranha has done about 400 Whipple procedures, and Ms. Cipolla is his oldest patient. In deciding whether to offer the surgery, Dr. Aranha considered her physiological as well as her chronological age. She had no other major health problems and passed a heart stress test. She had lots of energy and a positive outlook, and looked no older than 60.

During the 1970s, more than 15 percent of patients who underwent a Whipple died during the operation or shortly afterward. Improved techniques have significantly improved survival, especially at high-volume centers such as Loyola. The post-operative mortality rate of Aranha's patients is less than two percent.

At Loyola, the five-year survival rate of pancreatic cancer patients who undergo the Whipple is 20 percent. This equals the survival rate at other top hospitals, including Johns Hopkins, Sloan-Kettering and the Mayo Clinic.

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Dr. Anita Varkey is medical director of the general medicine clinic at Loyola Outpatient Center at Loyola University Health System. Dr. Varkey is an internist, researcher and professor who specializes in primary care, preventive medicine and women's health. "TCWell" focuses on health and wellness issues.