countrygirl62

Hi countrygirl62, Sorry it has taken me so long to check in on you. As you know I was taking a break until after the first of the year, and I have been back now for maybe 6 weeks. Did you ever get a second opinion? If so what did they say? What treatments are you on? I would like to hear from you. Keep the faith and never give up hope. I recently saw an article in the Wall Street Journal about a treatment called immunotherapy. Check with your oncologist about it and see if there are any clinical trials that you can get on...I have heard good things about this treatment. How are your spirits? Has the anxiety lessened somewhat? I hope that you are getting out of the house every day! Some 14 years later and I still get out of the house every day! My best to you and please let me hear from you...Russ

Hey countrygirl62...It seems like a lifetime since we last communicated, but I can see that you have been well taken care of by our fellow members at WhatNext. It's a great group isn't it? I couldn't tell if you had the Whipple Surgery yet or not. In any case the Whipple is the most common type of surgery used for pancreatic cancer in the head of the pancreas. In this type of surgery they remove the head of the pancreas, (approximately 25% of the pancreas), the gall bladder, the duodenum, and bile ducts...in some cases they will also remove approximately 25% of the stomach. They will then do immediate reconstruction. It is a time consuming surgery, but some hospitals specialize in this very same procedure. I myself had my surgery done at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. The Chief Surgeon of Gastroenterology Dr. E. Rosato performed surgery on me...although I did not have the Whipple. The reason being was because I had stage IV, adenosquamous carcinoma, pancreatic cancer. This is a rare type of pancreatic cancer and is usually in the body of the pancreas. They removed 40% of my pancreas, my entire spleen, (the tumor was growing and attaching itself to my spleen), they also took a slice of my left kidney, and 5 lymph nodes. The cancer had spread to the fist lymph node, and the others were clear. My surgeon was doing surgeries up until 3 months of his passing. He passed away in January 2012 of pancreatic cancer...how ironic.

Let me know if you had surgery yet or have they ruled that out until they see what the oral chemo does for you? You have got some good people here, at WhatNext, some of whom have had a lot of experience with oral chemo. So they can help you with a lot of your questions. I don't believe there were a lot of oral chemo drugs while I was being treated back in 2000...boy that seems like such a long time ago. Thank you God for allowing me to be here today, and God we would like to have countrygirl62, and the others, to tag along with us on our journey to remission.

Well the best to you once again countrygirl62, and please keep us up to date on your treatments and surgery if and when it is scheduled. God Bless you and provide you with some comfort at times of uncertainty.
Russ

Sorry, to hear about having to have chemo, I know they use different ones, depending on the cancer I had Gemzar, and 5fu. I found fatigue was bad. I kept trying to walk everyday. Some swelling in lower legs. They gave me meds for nausea. which helped . Whipple removes where the cancer was. I'll keep you in my prayers. Good Luck!

Hello Countrygirl62, my husband has stage III, inoperable (at this point) pancreatic cancer. He started at the end of January on the two drug chemo, Gemzar and Abraxone. He tolerates it very well, except after 2 treatments his platelets and WBC were too low for him to have the 3rd treatment. He had to wait 3 weeks before his counts came up to normal.. They were fine yesterday, so he had his third treatment.he is due for 2 more before CT scans are repeated to see if the 2 drug chemo is working. If it is, he will continue, if not he will go to 5FU. One thing he has done which helps so much is, he takes pain/anti nausea pills as regular as clock work, he was waiting until he had pain or was nauseas, but found this method keeps him virtually pain free and nausea free. He has a great appetite. He runs out of steam, so he tries to get a nap in during the day. So far so good. We just hope it is working.

Hi! How are you doing? What stage of cancer do you have? I have stage 2 b, one lymph node involved, close margins. My cancer was at the head. Had Whipple in dec 2012. Chemo and radiation, finished in aug.. Did have complication after surgery, delayed gastric empting, slow motility, so I was in and out of hospital due to vomiting, then went on TPN for nutrition for 2 months, was eating six small meals, low fat, lowfiber, low sugar. was doing ok, until a few months ago I started with, with burning when eating.. Upper endo showed my insides are beet red. I do have acid reflux. Not sure if it is from chemo, radiation or acid and slowed motility called gastroparesis. Working with a GI dr. who deals with that condition. Now on TPN, due to only being 84lbs., drinking broth and water. Hoping, insides will heal, so I can get back to eating my small six meals a day. My diet will have to be strict, due to acid reflux and slowed motility. Sorry, for the long story. There is also a online group, for Whipple survivors, which may help you, even if you haven't had surgery yet. Wish you the best of luck. My ct scan shows no cancer, which is great. But dealing with digestive problems, has put a damper on my life. But I get up every day and keep going, even thru the pain. I have 2 beautiful grandsons, husband and daughter. Keep me posted.

Welcome to whatnext.com and best wishes to you countrygirl62

Dear countrygirl62, First let me start out by saying how sorry I am for the loss of your mother. There really isn't anything that anyone can say to make you feel any better about your loss. It sounds as though you really haven't had time to grieve before you yourself was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but you should have many fond memories to reflect upon.

I myself am a 13 year pancreatic cancer survivor, and when you feel up to it take a look at an interview that Greg, (Mgr of WhatNext), and I did to show people what I went through to survive pancreatic cancer. Here is the link:

http://youtu.be/vsnyYsRT0BA

My best to you, and if you have any questions of any sort, just go to the top of the WhatNext page, and hit the tab for "QUESTIONS", and this way it will go to all of us.

Russ

Hello and welcome, we are glad you found us. Please feel free to join in the conversations. Here is a link to our cancer dx page for your type of cancer. Take a look at it to get you started on some information. You will notice at the bottom of that page 4 of our active users who have had that journey already, you may wish to contact them for their experience and wisdom. Also, I encourage you to go to the questions page now by clicking on the questions tab at the top of the page and post what is the most pressing issue you have right now. This will introduce you to the community and get you started on the help you need right now.

https://www.whatnext.com/conditions/cancer/pancreatic-cancer

There are also subtypes listed on this page to narrow down the type of cancer to match your dx.

Also, if you can take a few minutes and fill in some details of your journey so far, it will help others as they try to answer questions for you, it also helps others as they search through the data base to find someone like themselves. Confirming your email will allow you to receive updates and notices from the site when someone answers your questions or writes on your wall.

Thanks for being with us and let me know if I can help you find any information on the site. After you have an opportunity to look the site over and see what great things there are here, we encourage you to invite your friends, family or anyone you know that may be helped by the connections on WhatNext to join the site also. Just click this link to invite them to join. http://www.whatnext.com/recruit-a-friend

Follow Us on Twitter Click Here =>http://bit.ly/XExkce
Find Us on Facebook Click Here =>http://on.fb.me/zjBAPl
Our Pinterest Page with Resources=>http://bit.ly/12qVtEs
Our Help Page with instructions for the site->http://bit.ly/1aR5165
GregP 3X Survivor
Team WhatNext Community Mgr

Welcome to the WhatNext family! The WhatNext family is made up of people like you who are looking for help or looking to help others. To help you along your journey the WhatNext family has put together a Beginner's Guide to Cancer that I highly recommend you check-out here: http://bit.ly/10BQKCi. Also, please do not hesitate to reach out to others or ask for help.

Wishing you the best.

David
Founder, WhatNexter