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Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: 13 hours ago | Replies (1375)Comment receiving replies
Hi , my husband of 51 years was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver , liver cancer ,and pancreatic cancer . He is a 75 yr, old diabetic with ischemic colitis and in good health until an an ischemic event brought him to the hospital with what we suspected was appendicitis. The MRI revealed much more. He was released after a week , we are walking about 3 miles a day again as was our habit and are seeing a second opinion surgeon who specializes in the pancreas today . My question . Surgery is out . We were told 18 months . Should we be seeking palliative treatments or chemo and immunoglobulin therapy as the first dr suggested . My sweet husband is super sensitive to everything (food, weather, taste, pain ) especially food . Are there questions we should ask this Dr or should I not refrain from the serious questions and just allow my husband to confer with the Dr. ?
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Whew! So much all at once. That is daunting, I know. There are lots of people on this board with lots of expertise, and I hope some will chime in to share ideas as well.
I think the first big question is what your husband wants to do. He's the patient and needs to set the agenda. Once you all have conferred and figured that out, then you can proceed on the path you've identified. Since no surgery is recommended, chemo would likely be his weapon of choice. That would lead to questions about which set of medications to use (there are generally two standards of care, but a whole lot of variations within those) and what to expect with those, and you can discuss those with the MD.
In my case, I decided to fight my cancer. (FYI, I'm stage 4 pancreatic and inoperable due to blood vessel involvement.) My husband is totally supportive. He goes to all appointments and chemo infusions with me. We plan our questions in advance, and I'm usually the one asking them, but some are his questions as well. (Did that make sense? Ha.) So yes, your asking questions is totally appropriate and understandable, as long as your husband is OK with it.
Re palliative care, at my healthcare system, I was immediately referred to a palliative MD right after my diagnosis. BTW, palliative care and hospice are not necessarily the same thing. At my system, palliative handles side effects and symptom management. I can get fluid infusions, massage therapy, acupuncture, integrative med and dietitian consults, prescriptions for neuropathy and other issues, chaplain support, etc.--no direct cancer treatment, but a host of things to help manage the cancer and the treatment. Hospice would be appropriate when treatment is stopped, and the palliative MD is the one who would help set up hospice care if/when I decide to stop treatment. So depending on what your provider offers, I would definitely say yes to palliative care right now. If you get on their patient roll, then it's easier to get to them when you need them to manage symptoms and such.
There are tons of posts on the various chemo regimens and how to manage them, diet, comfort care, etc. You can search for topics and see what pops up. Hopefully others will offer ideas as well.