Pancreatic Cancer with Mets to the Liver: Lost and wondering!
Lost and Wondering Did We Do Everything? Is there anything else we can do?
We took my mother (who's in her 80s and worked in a foundry until she was 78 and up until a few moths ago was out playing bingo and visiting the local casino) in to the emergency department because she fell at 2300 and the ED is the only thing open. We thought dehydration and we would be home. ED doctor sees my sister and I speaking in the hall outside my mothers room and comes in and says " well you know she has cancer " What? –the expression on my siters face was heartbreaking not to mention the devastating news of cancer!!
She is admitted and the hospitalist comes in and asks us how much do we know about our mothers condition. We reply, not much other than what the ED doctor told us and that she had a US she had done last week that showed some spots on the liver and a MRI was done on Friday, but no results yet. The Hospitalist said that he would see if the results could be rushed and he would be back.
The entire time my sister and I are in a huge haze and nothing makes sense.
The hospitalist returns and first thing out of his mouth is " I'm sorry but I don't have any good news. Your mother has a large mass on her pancreas with mets to the liver. " He then proceeds to tell us that the prognosis is not good and surgery is not an option–but that he is not a oncologist but in his opinion there is nothing they can do for her, but again he states that he is ?not an oncologist " but will have one come see us. Wait, wait , wait–what just happened??My siter breaks down and I am just sitting there trying to process this information.
Oncologist comes in and tells us pretty much the same thing–I ask about surgery, chemo, radiation , anything all of which he feels will not prolong her life, Quality vs, quantity–we want both.
We were discharged a few days later with Hospice and here we are today–lost and feeling awful, wondering if we have done everything we can.
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@spicerpa
Hello, which clinical trial drug are you on?