Anna Lowman's body was telling her something was wrong. Doctors removed her gall bladder in October, thinking that might be the source of her problem. When the pain persisted, additional tests revealed she had Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. It was a terrifying diagnosis for the 50-year-old mother of a high school student.
The bright spot in the months since has been the support system that sprung up around her. Her boyfriend, Brian Wolk, her friend Leslie, who moved into their home in Mount Wolf to cook, clean and provide care, and her friend Iric, who grabbed Anna's appointment schedule and insisted on providing all transportation. And, of course, her daughter Sophia, 16, whom Anna describes as a basketball player and an all-around good kid.
Fighting cancer, Anna said, "takes an army. You cannot do this by yourself."
Anna knows because, unfortunately, this isn't her first go-around with cancer. In 2020, during the pandemic, she was treated for breast cancer and recovered.
Treatment for pancreatic cancer, she said, "made my breast cancer look like walk in the park."
She hurts, she sleeps, she worries. She had to resign from a job she loved doing office work for a plumbing company. During the six months it took for disability to kick in, money became a huge concern, even though Brian was working all the overtime available to him.
That's when Vickie's Angels joined her army -- and not for the first time. Anna said Vickie's provided help when she was battling breast cancer. Now they provided money toward rent, the electric bill and even her car payment.
"They have been such a huge help," Anna said.
Anna is about to take a pause from chemotherapy. The cancer is shrinking, she said, and doctors will monitor it closely and determine if surgery should be her next step. What they do know is the improvement has knocked her out of the Stage 3 category.
Anna said she is pleased with the medical team at Cancer Care Associates of York. The team prays for its patients "and you can be part of that if you want to be," she said.
Anna finds comfort in her team's belief that her cancer is curable and the encouraging signs that her treatment is working.
"That's what happens when you put God in the middle of it," she said.