
This patient story originally appeared Nov. 13, 2015 in Sharing Mayo Clinic.
An avid runner, Judi Zitiello, 66, was forced into a six-week hiatus when she developed a meniscus tear in early 2014. The retired financial executive was always active – exercising, hosting dinner parties, and volunteering to run the JT Townsend Foundation, a Jacksonville, Florida, philanthropic organization.
Judi wasn’t too concerned about the downtime at first. She knew her body would take time to heal. But the pain lingered. Then Judi began losing weight and her energy waned. "I didn't have the energy to get off the couch. I didn’t feel well. I was just not myself," Judi recalls. Still, she thought it must be related to her knee injury.
But when she began experiencing severe itching on her arms and torso, and her stool turned a clay color, Judi knew it was time to see someone other than the physical therapist. Little did she realize she would be starting a fight against pancreatic cancer. Read the rest of Judi's story.
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