Woman survives pancreatic cancer after routine heart scan catches early sign: “I feel so lucky”

October 10, 2026 / 8:00 AM EDT / CBS News

Bookstore owner Vicky Titcomb had no reason to suspect anything was out of the ordinary when she went to Mass General Brigham for a heart scan in March 2025.

The 72-year-old Cape Cod bookstore owner and great-grandmother felt healthy. The scan was just a routine errand she had to run before traveling to New York City to visit her son. After the test was complete, Titcomb drove to New York. She didn't think about the scan again until she received a call from her internist on the last day of her visit.

The doctor had alarming news: There was an abnormality on her pancreas. Further testing would be necessary, but she likely had pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest types of cancer.

"I felt like my life just switched in that moment," Titcomb said. "It was a very weird feeling."

But it wasn't Titcomb's first experience with a scary diagnosis. She had been treated for breast cancer in 2012. Then, she had worried. This time, she decided to stay positive. When tests confirmed she had pancreatic cancer, she made the choice not to research the often-deadly diagnosis.

"I saw some…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/