Riggs, a neuropsychologist, was married to Levi Sanders, who ran unsuccessfully for a New Hampshire congressional seat in 2018. Riggs' obituary says she met Levi Sanders while the two worked at an emergency food shelter in Vermont.
The obituary said Riggs was the director of behavioral medicine at Dartmouth Medical School for several years, and she started the Palliative Care Department for Dartmouth Medical Center. She also owned Riggs Geriatric Psychology in Windsor, Vermont.
What is neuroendocrine cancer?
When Riggs became ill three weeks ago, the hospitals where she sought help "were stumped," her obituary noted. She died two days after her diagnosis.
"Her last words were to tell her children how much she loved them and she was so sorry that she got sick," her family wrote.
Neuroendocrine tumors are rare and can be challenging to diagnose, according to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center. They start in the body's neuroendocrine cells, which receive messages from the nervous system and then release hormones into the bloodstream, the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation noted.
Neuroendocrine tumors can develop anywhere in the body, but most grow in the digestive tract, pancreas, rectum, lungs or appendix, the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center said. They can be benign or cancerous, slow-growing or quick to develop. They can also spread to other parts of the body.
There are several types of neuroendocrine tumors, but Riggs' obituary didn't specify which type of tumor she was diagnosed with.
This cancer usually occurs sporadically — with most patients having no family history of the illness. Fewer than 2,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
What area unit the symptoms?
One in 3 patients had symptoms of system tumors for 5 years or additional before being diagnosed, in step with the system tumour analysis Foundation. however the willcer can typically cause no symptoms in the least.
The warning signs vary betting on wherever the tumour is growing, however giant it's and whether or not it produces hormones. UPMC listed these attainable symptoms:
too much or insufficient sugar within the blood
persistent pain in a very specific space
diarrhea
unexplained weight gain or loss
persistent fever or night sweats
persistent cough or gruffness
yellowing of the skin
headache
Treatments for system tumors embrace surgery, radiation or therapy.
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