A Rare Tumor Is Removed While Preserving the Pancreas

In October of 2025, Lola Sze began experiencing persistent nausea and stomach pain. It went on for about four months before she went to see a gastroenterologist near where she lives in Naples, Fla. She thought it might be related to diverticulosis, a condition in which small pouches form in the wall of the colon. When these pouches become inflamed, the condition is called diverticulitis.

Lola’s doctor did not find diverticulitis, but imaging revealed a mass near the pancreas that appeared to arise from the pancreas and warranted further evaluation. So, Lola began to research options for specialists.

“I chose Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital because of its strong gastroenterology program,” Lola says. “I know it gets consistently high rankings, uses an interdisciplinary approach and has top-tier specialists.”

Impressed with his patient feedback and background, Lola made an appointment with Mayank Roy, MD, Surgical Director of the Pancreas Center at Weston Hospital, and made the two-hour drive to see him.

“My family was treated with kindness while they were waiting, which mattered during a scary time for me and for them”

“I had a lot of confidence in his ability,” Lola says. “He suspected it was a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor and ran tests, including an endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy with a specialist.” A pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor is a rare tumor that starts in the pancreas’ hormone producing endocrine cells.

In March of this year, Lola, 71, was scheduled to undergo Whipple surgery which includes partial removal of the pancreas in order to remove the tumor, as well as removal of lymph nodes and her gallbladder. It was also possible other organs in her digestive tract would be affected.

During surgery, however, Dr. Roy found that the tumor was separate from the pancreas. He was able to remove it while preserving the pancreas. Final pathology identified the mass as a peripancreatic paraganglioma. Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors that arise from nerve cells; in Lola’s case, the tumor was located next to the pancreas. This was considered as one of the differential diagnoses before surgery so appropriate preoperative planning was already done.

“I was very lucky,” Lola says. “Because of Dr. Roy’s decisiveness and skill, he was able to remove the tumor while sparing the pancreas.”

At just 2.5 hours, the surgery was significantly shorter than originally planned and Lola says her family, including her husband Andy and adult children, were kept informed throughout the procedure.

“My family was treated with kindness while they were waiting, which mattered during a scary time for me and for them,” she says.

Lola stayed in the hospital for three days following the surgery and recovered well. Because these tumors can come back, she will have lifelong surveillance with an oncologist in Naples, who communicates with Dr. Roy regularly.

“Dr. Roy was confident, professional and compassionate,” Lola says. “He worked closely with his team, who were also kind and compassionate.”

Six months after her surgery, Lola says she is “thriving” and is back to exercising regularly and traveling. She went on two hiking trips recently to the West Coast and to Norway.

“I have been able to get back to life and take those trips because of Dr. Roy and his team. My outcome was incredible,” she says.