@jbnc23 , I don't think there's any magic limit requiring your husband to stop at 12 treatments. Although the drugs he's on are tough on kidneys, blood, bone marrow, peripheral nerves, mind/spirits and more, the fact that he's at a point of somewhat "stable disease" is a good sign. Forum member @stageivsurvivor went far beyond the standard 12 rounds of the above drugs with minor adjustments he can tell you about.

Doctors may be able to adjust or change the "standard of care" drugs your husband is on, possibly skipping the oxaliplatin intermittently or replacing it with the slightly milder cisplatin. Other options such as GAC (Gemcitabine + Abraxane + Cisplatin) __may__provide a better response and/or fewer side effects. I had a so-so response to 12 rounds of Folfirinox before my surgery. After my post-op recurrence, I went through 32 rounds of GAC with better tolerance and response before getting into a clinical trial.

I completely agree that a chemo-break would be good for the mind and body overall, but I wouldn't break from it until you have the replacement treatment identified and scheduled. Cancer can spread and quickly move to Stage-IV if you give it too much vacation.

Maintenance monotherapy (single-drug) treatment may also be an option. If he hasn't already had germline and tissue (biopsy) testing done to identify targetable mutations, this should be done as soon as possible. PARP inhibitor drugs are now an approved monotherapy for PDAC patients with BRCA or PALB mutations.

Since your husband is "only" Stage-III... in which I don't see mention of other organ involvement except the vein, I would not accept his condition as "inoperable" until you've had a top surgeon declare it so. Dr. Christopher Wolfgang at NYU / Langone Cancer Center is well respected for successfully taking on complex cases others consider inoperable. I would recommend him as a top first target if you'd be able to travel to NY for treatment.

If the condition truly is inoperable now, or progresses to Stage-IV, your next step is investigating clinical trials. Knowing which mutations you have (if any) is a huge factor (but not the only one) in determining which trials you qualify for, so get that testing done as soon as possible if you haven't already. Blood/saliva tests such as Invitae can identify inherited (germline) mutations, and a blood test like Guardant 360 or Tempus xR might be able to identify somatic (environmental) mutations if you don't already have biopsy tissue available for a test like Tempus xT.

Wishing you both all the best!