BOSTON (WHDH) - A Mattapan woman is opening up about her journey with a difficult to diagnose cancer.
Lillius Watson was diagnosed with a type of cancer that is not as rare as once believed and a doctor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute says experts are now learning more about it.
Watson was living in Canada and was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer.
“That’s when my whole world turned upsidedown,” Watson said.
She was in the process of moving to Boston and decided to have her cancer treated at Dana-Farber and went to see Doctor Douglas Rubinson.
“I looked at him and I said ‘Doctor Rubinson, am I going to die?'” Watson said.
Rubinson offered Watson hope despite being diagnosed with a type of cancer that is typically considered rare.
Rubinson says cholangiocarcinoma is not actually as rare as once believed since research now indicates that many cancers once considered “cancers of unknown primary origin” actually originated in the bile ducts. This knowledge is opening up the door to more research and a more effective way to diagnose these types of cancers.
“We don’t have a good screening system for cholangiocarcinoma,” Rubinson said. “The key for having a chance to be cured is to detect it when it’s early when it has not had a chance to spread.”
For Watson, screening after an earlier surgery is what caught her cancer early enough to effectively treat it. She’s received chemotherapy and radiation and had a great response that her doctor’s hope will be long-lasting.
“So I hope everybody can have the result I’m having today,” Watson said. “I’m 59 years old and I thank God every day.”
Researchers say they’re not learning that bile duct cancer is not just one cancer type, but rather several diseased under one umbrella. They are hopeful that can help unlock future discoveries and treatments.
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