Doctors caught rare cancer by looking for the zebra

"Thank God for the kidney stones" isn't a phrase one typically expects to hear -- but Jennifer Goff said they may have saved her life.

The 21-year-old nursing and EMT student said she was rushed to the MedCentral/Shelby Hospital emergency room last August with severe back pain. Doctors told Goff she had already passed kidney stones, but a CT scan would show she wasn't out of the woods yet.

"It showed a tumor, but they said an MRI would give a better picture," Goff's mother Lynn Shafer said.

The next day, an MRI confirmed a 3.5-centimeter tumor on her daughter's pancreas.

"So many people, like Jen, discover it because of other issues. There is a lot of misdiagnosis out there. There is probably no other way to detect this besides a CT scan," Shafer said. "But they told us they believed it was benign because of her age."

With that in mind, the family couldn't believe the news Goff recently received.

"I was going to pick up my sister when the doctor called," Goff said, noting that her doctor had previously asked her to come in, but she had requested to be informed over the phone. "He told me I had cancer."

Specifically, she has a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, a rare subgroup of tumors found in the pancreas. Goff said she pulled her car into the Shelby Duke and Duchess station.

"It sounded like he wasn't talking right. I couldn't really make out what he was saying," she said, tears filling her eyes. "Then, when it actually hit me, I had to have him repeat everything so I could write it down.

"I kept repeating, 'I have cancer. I have cancer. I have cancer.' He was very nice and told me this is curable. I just needed to get into the right hands."

Goff wasn't comforted.

"I just sat there and tried to figure out how I was going to tell my mom," she said. "I called her at work and asked when she was going to be home because I didn't want to tell her over the phone -- but she could tell something was wrong, because she's Mom."

Shafer tried to comfort her daughter.

"I told her it was going to be OK and that we would get through this," Shafer said. "I work in Marion though, and that drive home seemed to take forever."

Goff said she immediately began researching her cancer.

"There are only 1,500 cases in the U.S. diagnosed in a year, though they've found many more on autopsies," Goff said.

Today is Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day.

"It's only the second annual -- that's how new this is," Goff said.

The ribbon designated to this particular cancer is zebra striped, which signifies thinking outside of the box -- when you hear horse hooves, don't immediately think horse. It could be a zebra.

"We say, 'Thank God for the kidney stones,' because if it wasn't for them we may have not discovered this until much later," Shafer said. "Early detection is key."

Goff finished her last week of work until after recovery, which is expected to be about eight weeks. She also had to quit school.

She was more than halfway through the paramedic program, but must start back at the beginning when she is able to return.

"I've just been spending a lot of time with my family and my daughter," she said. "I keep telling myself I have to do this and get through this for her."

Goff recently saw an oncologist, which turned out to be one of the biggest blessings so far.

"Until I saw her, I couldn't sleep. I was having nightmares. I was waking up crying. Every night I'd lay down to sleep, all the negative stuff would come in," Goff said. "But seeing the oncologist really cleared up the unknown. I think more positively now. I keep telling myself, 'No, this is not going to come back.' "

A visit to the James Cancer Center on Monday in Columbus determined Goff will have surgery at the end of November. Through it all, she remains positive and continues to count her blessings.

"I've learned not to take life for granted and to be thankful for what I have because you just never know what lies ahead. I have a super family and friends and I know I'm going to get through this," she said. "And I'm grateful for the oncologist -- who looked for the zebra instead of the horse."