Ross Resident Beats Cancer Odds; Finds Little Things Make him Happy

Ross Township resident Wes Semple knew something was amiss when he developed a rash on his chest in March of 2005.

A few days later, the school nurse where he taught at Shaler Area High School noticed his eyes were yellow. After calling the doctor and getting some blood work, Semple said he believed he would need to have gallbladder surgery, and ended up going to the hospital. What he found out would change his life forever.

Semple learned he had pancreatic cancer, a disease which has the lowest survival rate of any major cancer – only 6 percent of patients survive more than five years. 

“When the doctor walked in and said you have pancreatic cancer, my response back to him was ‘I got one of the worst ones, didn’t I?’” said Semple, 69. “And his answer was ‘yes’.

"That throws you.”

Semple, now cancer-free for six years and retired from his teaching job, has thrown himself into advocating on behalf of other cancer patients and offering them his support. He journeyed to Washington in June in order to lobby the Senate in support of the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act. In addition, he is also a member of the PALS program — an organization which allows him to reach out to other pancreatic cancer patients and give them his support.

And as a member of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PANCAN), an all-volunteer organization that is dedicated to raising money for research and spreading awareness, he will be participating Sunday in the PurpleStride Pittsburgh Pick up the Pace, a 5K run and one mile walk. This is the eighth year for the event, and it will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the  swimming pool lot on South Ridge Road. Last year the race attracted about a thousand people and was able to raise more than $80,000 for pancreatic cancer awareness and research.

“I think one of the reasons why he is still here is he’s here to help other people and to get the word out,” said his wife, Susan Semple. “I really believe that. There’s a reason why he’s still here when all these other people haven’t survived.”

Andrea Bauer, spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh Affliate of the PANCAN, joined the group after her mother passed away in November 2006 from pancreatic cancer after being diagnosed the May before. She said she had difficulty finding support and felt there was a lack of options given during her mother's struggle. 

She said Semple is an inspiration to other patients and families going through the disease. 

“He is a symbol of hope, that they too can beat this disease and it’s not all doom and gloom,” Bauer said. “There is hope for people. He kind of represents that in our group, because he has beaten the statistics.”

After being diagnosed, Semple immediately had an intense surgery called the Whipple. It removes parts of and rearranges the pancreas and digestive tract. 

“He was diagnosed on Wednesday, the surgeon was brought in on Thursday, and they operated on Friday,” Susan Semple said. “It was Easter week, and I thought they’re going to wait until Monday because it was Good Friday. And the surgeon said, no, we are doing it now. If it is a fast spreading type, every day counts.”

After the surgery, Semple went through six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy in an effort to eradicate the disease. These few weeks were some of the hardest of his life, but by going to a cancer psychologist at UPMC Passavant, he said he was able to gain a new and hopeful outlook on his situation.

“One day [the counselor] said you have to live like you’re going to die,” Wes Semple said. “She explained you do little things to make yourself happy. I wanted a fountain for my deck and I went out and bought it. I used to sit there on that deck and just listen to that fountain bubbling, and I would just be so happy because that was something that was making me happy. And I said well, if I die at the end of the year or the end of the month, I did something to make me happy for that time.”

His wife was beside him the whole time. 

“I went to every appointment with him,” she said. “I went when he had his chemotherapy. I sat there with him. When he went for his radiation treatments, of course I couldn’t go into the treatment room with him, but I went with him each day and sat there with him and just let him know that no matter what, I was there for him.”

Semple returned to teaching World Cultures, World History, and Political Science at Shaler the next school year, where his students often inquired about his condition. If he was absent to get a test done, they would ask him about the results the next day.

Semple said that knowing people cared about him is what really gave him hope, and is also one of the reasons he became involved in volunteer efforts to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer.

Although Semple retired from teaching in 2008, he now does a different kind of teaching — the kind that brings optimism and reassurance to those who face the same perilous battle as himself.