A rare but deadly disease was secretly lurking in my body the lucky way it was caught, despite no symptoms

Call it a run-in with reality.OpenAI executive Maggie Hott has crossed the finish lines of two Ironman triathlons and 21 marathons, describing herself as a “very, very, very healthy person.” Two years ago, the mother of two decided to find out exactly how healthy she is.A good friend suggested she undergo testing at Biograph, a high-end longevity and early disease detection clinic co-founded by anti-aging influencer Dr.Peter Attia.

Offices are located in NYC and the San Francisco area.“I was like, ‘Oh, this will be a good opportunity to learn about my health,'” Hott, 38, told The Post of her 2024 visit.“What I didn’t expect was to actually find something.

You never expect that to be you.”The $7,500 testing — which spanned about six hours — included a DEXA bone density scan, cognitive assessments, flexibility evaluations, blood work, a VO2 max test and a fateful MRI.A few days later, Hott got a shocking call from Biograph.The news from the San Mateo clinic stopped Hott in her tracks.“They’re like, ‘Hey, we just want to let you know this is probably pretty urgent,'” she recalled.“‘We found a suspicious tumor on your pancreas, and we think you should get it looked at.'”She immediately focused on her health.She was already a patient at UC San Francisco, so she made an appointment for an MRI and biopsy that confirmed she had a solid pseudopapillary neoplasm, a rare tumor that tends to emerge in the body or tail of the pancreas of young women.Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest diseases because it’s often discovered late and spreads rapidly.

There is no routine screening, and early symptoms — if there are any — can easily be mistaken for less serious ailments.Hott had no symptoms and no family history before she was diagnosed with Stage 1 pancreatic cancer.This particular tumor has a good survival rate — exceeding 95% — while the overall five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer across all stages is roughly 13%.In ...