VA says Army veteran is cancer-free after expedited pancreatic cancer care

A retired Army veteran treated for pancreatic cancer through the Department of Veterans Affairs is now cancer-free, according to a VA News story published November 12, 2026, by the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System.

The VA said Robert Brown, who served 20 years in the Army, had received primary care for four years from Dr. David Traynor at the Palatka VA Clinic. When Brown reported persistent symptoms, Traynor ordered a full workup and prescribed temporary medication while tests were pending, the agency said.

According to the VA, additional imaging found a pancreatic mass. Traynor sought help from colleagues in other service lines: one expedited a biopsy, and another moved up an MRI that had been scheduled weeks out. The VA said imaging was completed within days, and the biopsy confirmed pancreatic cancer.

Brown then began treatment with oncologist Dr. Jennifer Duff, and chemotherapy began shrinking the tumor within weeks, the agency said. After more rounds of chemotherapy and surgery to remove the mass, Brown was declared cancer-free, according to the VA.

"Everybody got together for me. VA was great," Brown said in the release. He added that he can now make plans he had not been making before.

The story pointed readers to the VA National Oncology Program for more information.

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/997