I do have lesions on my liver in addition to the main tumor in the body of my pancreas. I probably have lesions elsewhere, for that matter. The lesions don't show up on a CT scan because they're too flat, but the surgeon saw them during my staging laparoscopy. So that makes me a stage 4. I'm not a medical professional, so all I can share is my own experience. In my case, chemo is not only the treatment of choice, it's the only treatment. The lesions and blood vessel involvement around the main tumor exclude me from any sort of surgery (such as the Whipple) or radiation. I did ask about HIPEC, which is a heated abdominal chemo wash, but my MD told me it would make me really sick and he didn't recommend it. I'm having chemo round 20 tomorrow. I'm on modified Folfiri (no oxaliplatin; my MD discontinued it after round 8), and my dosage level is lower than typical because of the side effects I had during round 1. Does that info help at all? Post your questions. There are a lot of really knowledgeable, helpful people on this board!
My husband also can't have surgery because of vessel involvement
I think when we go for his first chemo treatment after being off chemo since November while he was having 28 days of radiation that didn't shrink his tumor as was hoped for🙁we might find that he now has lesions on his liver
He had a scan last week that I can see on his patient gateway chart and it shows liver lesions so I was wondering what the oncologist was going to recommend on Wednesday and it sounds like from your comment that he will get chemo..I just want to make sure that they recommend some kind of treatment. Thought I have read on this site that others that have liver lesions from the pan cancer have had chemo for it and I think I have read that it has shrunk the liver lesions,,hope that true❤️
And yes your post has helped a lot!! thank you...a battle every day!
My husband also can't have surgery because of vessel involvement
I think when we go for his first chemo treatment after being off chemo since November while he was having 28 days of radiation that didn't shrink his tumor as was hoped for🙁we might find that he now has lesions on his liver
He had a scan last week that I can see on his patient gateway chart and it shows liver lesions so I was wondering what the oncologist was going to recommend on Wednesday and it sounds like from your comment that he will get chemo..I just want to make sure that they recommend some kind of treatment. Thought I have read on this site that others that have liver lesions from the pan cancer have had chemo for it and I think I have read that it has shrunk the liver lesions,,hope that true❤️
And yes your post has helped a lot!! thank you...a battle every day!
@bceg1969 , I've copied and pasted this from an older discussion. I hope something in it might be helpful...
... this is kind of recent, long-shot stuff, but are you familiar with HAI (Hepatic Artery Infusion)? It's where surgeons implant a pump with a chemo reservoir that has a catheter directly to one of the arteries that feeds the liver.
is for mets to liver from colorectal cancer and bile duct cancer but _might_ be applicable to pancreatic cancers with the right surgeon/institution.
The video link above features Dr. Michael Cavner, who did his fellowship at MSKCC, and describes how the work there expanded as those fellows graduated and moved to new centers.
I noticed that a fairly new/young surgeon at Mayo Jacksonville, Dr. Katherine Poruk at lists HAI and Whipple among procedures she performs. She did her fellowship at MSKCC and co-published several papers with Dr. Christopher Wolfgang during her residency at Johns Hopkins, so she or someone with similar background might be a good person to discuss options with. https://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/poruk-katherine-m-d/bio-20545266
In Dr. Cavner's video, he mentions the importance of a pre-infusion saline test to make sure the chemo is _not_going to the pancreas (context again being to treat a colorectal met to the liver), but for someone with a tumor also in the pancreas, it might actually be desired and doable.
I had only read of direct arterial infusion for pancreatic cancers in rats, but they were able to obtain chemo concentrations in the pancreas with 1/300th the dose of what they needed for conventional systemic chemo through a port while minimizing systemic side effects.
Thank you for this information
I'm hoping they are going to come up with treatment that will be the one that helps tomorrow when we see the oncologist
I'll mention this if I think they aren't coming up with what is a good alternative
I appreciate your help so very much
Worst time of my life😢
Thank you for this information
I'm hoping they are going to come up with treatment that will be the one that helps tomorrow when we see the oncologist
I'll mention this if I think they aren't coming up with what is a good alternative
I appreciate your help so very much
Worst time of my life😢
Hang in there! This is my third cancer diagnosis, and while I can't say I would have voluntarily chosen it, I've certainly learned a lot about medical care and about myself. Be nice to yourself and your husband, and give yourself grace. Good wishes to you all!
I had pancreatic cancer in 2022 (can’t believe that long ago!) and had surgery. Nov 2023 MRI found liver lesions and endoscopy dr said had it on hepatic/celiac artery. I also have some in my abdominal area. CT doesn’t show lesions as I think CT is for more 3-dimensional tumors. I’m receiving GAC chemo combo for these and there is a response as my CA19-9 went from 3840 to 550 after 3 treatments so far. Had to take week off though as my white blood count too low. Hoping you have the best oncologist out there.
I do have lesions on my liver in addition to the main tumor in the body of my pancreas. I probably have lesions elsewhere, for that matter. The lesions don't show up on a CT scan because they're too flat, but the surgeon saw them during my staging laparoscopy. So that makes me a stage 4. I'm not a medical professional, so all I can share is my own experience. In my case, chemo is not only the treatment of choice, it's the only treatment. The lesions and blood vessel involvement around the main tumor exclude me from any sort of surgery (such as the Whipple) or radiation. I did ask about HIPEC, which is a heated abdominal chemo wash, but my MD told me it would make me really sick and he didn't recommend it. I'm having chemo round 20 tomorrow. I'm on modified Folfiri (no oxaliplatin; my MD discontinued it after round 8), and my dosage level is lower than typical because of the side effects I had during round 1. Does that info help at all? Post your questions. There are a lot of really knowledgeable, helpful people on this board!
@ncteacher
I’m stage 4 as well but discovered a high dose radiation treatment (NOT the same as SBRT that most oncologist know about) at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC. It was 3 full weeks/5 days a week. I was able to be off chemo for 6 mos. Some people have gone considerably longer. There are very few places that do this method and Dr. Christopher Crane at MSK pioneered it so I went there. Maybe worth looking into for your situation. He’s very good at getting back to you and explaining the procedure. And we were set up at Hope Lodge and stayed for free.
I had pancreatic cancer in 2022 (can’t believe that long ago!) and had surgery. Nov 2023 MRI found liver lesions and endoscopy dr said had it on hepatic/celiac artery. I also have some in my abdominal area. CT doesn’t show lesions as I think CT is for more 3-dimensional tumors. I’m receiving GAC chemo combo for these and there is a response as my CA19-9 went from 3840 to 550 after 3 treatments so far. Had to take week off though as my white blood count too low. Hoping you have the best oncologist out there.
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I do have lesions on my liver in addition to the main tumor in the body of my pancreas. I probably have lesions elsewhere, for that matter. The lesions don't show up on a CT scan because they're too flat, but the surgeon saw them during my staging laparoscopy. So that makes me a stage 4. I'm not a medical professional, so all I can share is my own experience. In my case, chemo is not only the treatment of choice, it's the only treatment. The lesions and blood vessel involvement around the main tumor exclude me from any sort of surgery (such as the Whipple) or radiation. I did ask about HIPEC, which is a heated abdominal chemo wash, but my MD told me it would make me really sick and he didn't recommend it. I'm having chemo round 20 tomorrow. I'm on modified Folfiri (no oxaliplatin; my MD discontinued it after round 8), and my dosage level is lower than typical because of the side effects I had during round 1. Does that info help at all? Post your questions. There are a lot of really knowledgeable, helpful people on this board!
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Hug
6 ReactionsMy husband also can't have surgery because of vessel involvement
I think when we go for his first chemo treatment after being off chemo since November while he was having 28 days of radiation that didn't shrink his tumor as was hoped for🙁we might find that he now has lesions on his liver
He had a scan last week that I can see on his patient gateway chart and it shows liver lesions so I was wondering what the oncologist was going to recommend on Wednesday and it sounds like from your comment that he will get chemo..I just want to make sure that they recommend some kind of treatment. Thought I have read on this site that others that have liver lesions from the pan cancer have had chemo for it and I think I have read that it has shrunk the liver lesions,,hope that true❤️
And yes your post has helped a lot!! thank you...a battle every day!
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@bceg1969 , I've copied and pasted this from an older discussion. I hope something in it might be helpful...
... this is kind of recent, long-shot stuff, but are you familiar with HAI (Hepatic Artery Infusion)? It's where surgeons implant a pump with a chemo reservoir that has a catheter directly to one of the arteries that feeds the liver.
This context of this video:
https://youtu.be/srP9mZVGuec?si=BeC5aJk-H4a5ico5
is for mets to liver from colorectal cancer and bile duct cancer but _might_ be applicable to pancreatic cancers with the right surgeon/institution.
The video link above features Dr. Michael Cavner, who did his fellowship at MSKCC, and describes how the work there expanded as those fellows graduated and moved to new centers.
I noticed that a fairly new/young surgeon at Mayo Jacksonville, Dr. Katherine Poruk at lists HAI and Whipple among procedures she performs. She did her fellowship at MSKCC and co-published several papers with Dr. Christopher Wolfgang during her residency at Johns Hopkins, so she or someone with similar background might be a good person to discuss options with.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/poruk-katherine-m-d/bio-20545266
In Dr. Cavner's video, he mentions the importance of a pre-infusion saline test to make sure the chemo is _not_going to the pancreas (context again being to treat a colorectal met to the liver), but for someone with a tumor also in the pancreas, it might actually be desired and doable.
I had only read of direct arterial infusion for pancreatic cancers in rats, but they were able to obtain chemo concentrations in the pancreas with 1/300th the dose of what they needed for conventional systemic chemo through a port while minimizing systemic side effects.
Thank you for this information
I'm hoping they are going to come up with treatment that will be the one that helps tomorrow when we see the oncologist
I'll mention this if I think they aren't coming up with what is a good alternative
I appreciate your help so very much
Worst time of my life😢
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Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionHang in there! This is my third cancer diagnosis, and while I can't say I would have voluntarily chosen it, I've certainly learned a lot about medical care and about myself. Be nice to yourself and your husband, and give yourself grace. Good wishes to you all!
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Hug
4 ReactionsYes,,Grace and Hope✝️🛐
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3 ReactionsI had pancreatic cancer in 2022 (can’t believe that long ago!) and had surgery. Nov 2023 MRI found liver lesions and endoscopy dr said had it on hepatic/celiac artery. I also have some in my abdominal area. CT doesn’t show lesions as I think CT is for more 3-dimensional tumors. I’m receiving GAC chemo combo for these and there is a response as my CA19-9 went from 3840 to 550 after 3 treatments so far. Had to take week off though as my white blood count too low. Hoping you have the best oncologist out there.
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Like -
Helpful -
Hug
4 Reactions@ncteacher
I’m stage 4 as well but discovered a high dose radiation treatment (NOT the same as SBRT that most oncologist know about) at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC. It was 3 full weeks/5 days a week. I was able to be off chemo for 6 mos. Some people have gone considerably longer. There are very few places that do this method and Dr. Christopher Crane at MSK pioneered it so I went there. Maybe worth looking into for your situation. He’s very good at getting back to you and explaining the procedure. And we were set up at Hope Lodge and stayed for free.
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Like -
Helpful -
Hug
6 ReactionsThank you very much for that information!
I will save it for my oncologist
That sounds hopeful
What does GAC stand for
I want to see if those are the chemo he puts my husband on tomorrow