Bile duct cancer survivor credits early diagnosis

“I’m a two-time cancer survivor. I have been cancer-free for five years now, and I’m doing great!” said Leslie Pickus, 57, who needed surgery to remove a mass in her liver and bile ducts, which are thin tubes that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder.

She said she had a reaction to a new supplement that had too much green tea extract, and it sent her into acute liver failure. Doctors told her to stop taking the supplements, but her bilirubin kept going higher. Leslie said she was turning jaundice and was in and out of the hospital until doctors found the problem.

“My body was turning yellow and then orange because of the bilirubin,” said Leslie. “Then they found the cancer. They found bile duct cancer at stage 1, which is unheard of, because they don’t usually find this type of cancer so early.”

Leslie needed a complex surgery to remove the cancer. She met with Dr. Lokesh Bathla, hepatobiliary surgeon, at Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant.

“We removed two-thirds of her liver, gall bladder and bile ducts,” said Dr. Lokesh Bathla, hepatobiliary surgeon. “It was a long, complex operation, and we were able to remove all the disease successfully to save her life.”

Leslie said the reaction to the supplements was the only reason they found the cancer so early.

“It was kind of a fluke how I got there, but I believe it was God intervening. I’m grateful to the physicians and the nurses,” said Leslie. “Today, I’m active. I do what I want, and I eat what I want!”