16     AIP

Skeptical of 'expert' opinions and desperate for alternatives not offered, the man's wife scoured medical journals, looking for better answers.

She read about Autoimmune Pancreatitis. A disease that masquerades as cancer, but isn’t. A disease that can be successfully treated with steroids. A disease for which there was growing research outside of the US, but that is largely unknown in the US.

To his doctors, she asked, “Did you check the IGG4 Type 1 levels? Maybe he has Autoimmune Pancretitis?”

Politely condescending, they did not take her seriously.