1954 - 2009

In the summer of 2004 Linda was diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas. Dr. Martin (Linda’s GP) understood that Linda’s symptoms were serious and within a week she was in surgery. This was extremely important as Linda was weeks away from having a tumor that was inoperable. Dr. Walsh (Linda’s surgeon) took over 9 hours to remove the tumor and save part of her pancreas. She then had a couple of months of radiation therapy and four months of chemo therapy. Linda regained her strength and the cancer stayed in remission until the fall of 2008. At that time, Linda began having more trouble digesting foods and a new tumor was discovered on her pancreas. We thought that she would be a candidate for the cyber knife at Stanford to remove the tumor. However, it didn’t work that way. She was admitted to the hospital October 24th with severe digestive problems. Linda’s digestive problems became very serious. She was unable to digest anything. On Halloween, Dr Walsh again operated on her to bypass her obstructed pylorus. The operation was successful, however the anesthesiologists nicked a nerve in her left shoulder and her left arm was paralyzed. After six weeks in the hospital, Linda was able to return home for Thanksgiving dinner only to begin to have epileptic seizures. She was re-admitted to the hospital for another week. With the proper medication, her seizures were under control, she had recovered some of her strength, and she was able to start another round of chemo therapy. This round was with the drug GEMZAR. It had been effective for Linda during her first battle and her oncologist (Dr. May Chen) expected good results based on the success of the earlier round. After 8 rounds it was time for another CT scan to check on the results. The scan showed that the tumor had not receded and other nodules were present. It was decided that Linda would start a drug combination of Gemzar and Cisplatin. Linda had two treatments when her tumor makers (CA19-9) and her liver functions started to show other problems. Chemo was suspended because of her deteriorating liver functions. The disease had become so pervasive that Dr. Chen’s prognosis on June 11th was that Linda had only 2 to 4 weeks left. On June 15th she was transferred to Hospice Care. Linda passed July 5, 2009 at 3:49 am. She fought right up to the end. However, in the end she passed peacefully. She was fortunate that she had very little pain. The Hospice of the Valley people were wonderful and provided great support for Linda. Linda persevered through any number of medical issues that would have stopped a normal person. She was incredibility strong through the whole process. She never gave up. Obituary Linda Legregni January 20, 1954 to July 5, 2009 Loving wife, daughter and sister, Linda Legregni passed away at her home in Los Gatos, California July 5, 2009 after a courageous battle against pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her husband, Ron Hankison, sister, Lori Curran and parents Joe and Betty Leiching of Kingston, NY. Born and raised in Kingston, NY, Linda has called Los Gatos, California her home for the past 14 years. Linda had a 30+ year career with IBM in New York and California as a highly motivated software executive, most recently as Program Director of High Performance on Demand Solutions. An avid jogger, she competed in many long distance races. She also enjoyed running with Zoë, her prized standard poodle. Zoë and Linda competed in both agility and obedience trials. Her passions ran far and deep as a lover of travel, nature, music, arts, fine wine and food. . She was a member of the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Society and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In the last few years, she even accomplished a life goal of learning to play the piano. She was also an active member of her local book club and was well-read on a wide variety of subjects. A gathering of friends and family to celebrate her life “well lived,” in her words, will be held at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, California on Aug. 2 at 5 p.m. and at the Belvedere Mansion in Staatsburg, New York on Aug. 9th at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Linda’s name made to the American Cancer Society are appreciated. Linda will be dearly remembered and missed by her family and many friends.
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