VIDEO
Dr. Jill Pechacek Was Defined By Her
Relentless Optimism.
She was a family medicine
physician with enormous compassion for her patients. In part
because she was a multiple cancer warrior. Dr. Jill survived a
bout with ovarian cancer when she was just 25. About 21 years
later she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September,
2014.
She said she didn’t have any doubt she was going to
defeat ovarian cancer. She did just that and went on to have
three children: sons Hawk and Brooks and daughter Hope, who
are now teenagers.
Eight years after the birth of her youngest child
Hope, Dr. Jill never thought she’d soon be experiencing
another bout of cancer. But in September of 2014, pain in
her stomach wouldn’t let up. She thought it was either an
ulcer or pancreatitis, but received the devastating news that
she had stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had metastasized to her
liver.
“My survival isn’t about just me, it’s about my kids,” she
said.
What
she gleaned from a
diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, she said, "you can't hold
resentment in your heart " . So many amazing things
come out of challenging times, and she felt life was all about
deepening relationships and all of the new people that God
brings into your life.
She
had undergone separate surgeries. One to have her pancreas
removed and then two-thirds of her liver removed. Her scan in
August 2017 showed no evidence of the disease, but because of
significant side effects from having chemotherapy every week for
almost three years , she gave up practicing medicine.
Instead,
she became a motivational speaker to remind people of what's
truly important in life: having faith in God and knowing the
power of prayer; noting that each day is a gift and being around
the people you love and the people who love, support and
encourage you is so important.
Jill felt guided by wisdom from several sources,
including Verse 31:25 from the Book of Proverbs that says,
“She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs
without fear of the future. She urged other patients to
“let their faith be bigger than their fear” and underscored
that “God has a plan for them.”
The effervescent Dr. Jill Pechacek passed away in
January of 2018. She will always remain an inspiration to all
that knew her.
Your donation in memory of Jill will directly benefit medical
research in pursuit of an easy method of early detection,
extending patient quality of life, and ultimately a cure of the
worst of all cancer.
