I was diagnosed with Islet Cell Cancer (about mid pancreas) which was said to be responsible for hormone and enzyme secretion within your body. Basically, enzymes to help digest your food and stomach contents and hormones to have to do with blood sugar and diabetes. 7 years later the Islet Cell has mestasized to a 3.6 cm growth in the liver with 2 uptake spots there too (uptake I was told meant the area was ripe for tumor growth). Then the Spleen, GI and GU tracts all had uptakes to them. I had 28 radiation treatments to the pancreas. 2 cycles of Adriamyacin and Streptozocin, in which I was told heart or kidney damage could occur in as much as 5 years. That posed explicit changes to the doctor and why was followed with 12 cycles of Sutent and 3 cycles of Affinitor. Chemocare.com is an excellent site for chemo damage and interactions. The thing I was fortunate in following was my Liver Panel every 3 months and changes within it. Those were area's that I posed direct questions about these changes to see where I stood. The last type of treatment I had was 2 shots of Sandostatin; after which, I called it quits and told the doctor "I no longer could take the adverse affects of it. That placed me from Palliative Care to Hospice Care which I am presently in.

A couple of points my Oncologist made after the growth was seen in the Liver on an OctreoTide Scan was, "since it's in your liver, it's in your blood and when it's in your blood it's likely to mestasized elsewhere." Some other items to note, (1) Something else diet or lack to want to eat or drink, (2) and weight loss.

Some area's of concern can be American Cancer Society (Liver); ASCO (liver); Mayo Clinic (Liver cancer), etc. and Johns Hopkins all posed, "don't wait if your case is new and you seek treatment, or it may never come to pass as was with Steve Jobs.

Good Luck

irvkay312