Has anyone been able to have surgery for tumor in the tail?

Thank you. It such and up/ down and it changes So hoping tumors shrink Any idea how long after they do another ct or mri. I think we were told 3 months. However, with information overload I might have it incorrect

Standard of care frequency of doing a scan to assess efficacy of treatment is 3 months. If receiving (m)Folfirinox, it would be after the sixth cycle. If receiving Gemzar/Abraxane, it would be after the third cycle which is nine infusions.

If the first regimen fails, an oncologist may schedule a scan after two months of the second regimen being used.

My husband was also told surgery was not an option. Tumor in tail of pancreas, but had spread to bones, lungs, lymph nodes when they found it. Had been extremely healthy and strong until the back pain from bone mets took us down this road. Has had 12 treatments of folfirinox with 2 other chemo drugs. First 5 or 6 treatments weren't too bad other than tiredness and throwing up. But the rest were increasingly worse for him. Everyone is different, but he's lost a lot of weight as he just couldn't eat/drink enough. Has been light headed for months. Neuropathy in hands and feet. He's now just doing the folfirinox and that has been easier than the 3 drug combo... but was so weakened from the 12 bad treatments that he continues to have problems with fatigue, some nausea, continued light headedness and neuropathy. Tries to walk, but it is like a slow 1/10 of a mile compared to the many mile backpacking hikes he used to do. Hopeful that things will get better... and it is slightly better than when he was doing the 3 drug cocktail.
Going in for extra hydration has helped him as he was just unable to drink/eat enough. Stool softeners/laxatives have helped. And taking creon with meals has helped as he wasn't getting the nutrients from what he did eat.
Oh, also getting regular CA19-9 blood tests have been huge for watching the tumor markers. Normal is less than 35. He started at over 39,000. Now is down to less than 500 and numbers continue to fall which the oncologist says shows that the folfirinox is working. His first oncologist never ordered that test, so tried treating him for lung cancer instead of pancreatic cancer... and of course that did not work at all and resulted in months delay of the proper treatment.
Good luck to you. This forum has given me hope.

I’m sorry for the late response; I just saw this now. I had a tumor in my pancreas tail that was removed at Mayo Rochester on 12/1/23. Prior to that I had 11 rounds of 5FU locally (Chicago area) and then did 3 weeks of chemo radiation at Mayo. Then about 6 weeks later had the surgery. The surgeon also removed my spleen, gallbladder, and some cysts on my pancreas. They checked 11 lymph nodes and all were clear. Margins clear too and NED. My only regret is that I wish I had started at Mayo earlier. They had tests that Chicago hospitals didn’t.

Thank you for your response. We had an interview with an oncologist at Mayo, and surgery is not on option. No research trials are open at this time for the issues my husband has with this cancer. The treatment he is doing is shrinking the cancer, but it was decided, with the oncologists counsel, it may be a better quality of life if we spread out the treatments to every three weeks instead of evert two. There maybe a trial open for him in January. So, we are praying we get that chance.

My cancer is stage IV in the tail & is not operable. The not operable part is not due to it being in the tail. Mine has shrunk to "no evidence of disease" but the not operable part is due to it has already left the pancreas & metastasized to my lungs. I will always have this cancer. There are times I will have a good CA19-9 and CT scans & can take a break from chemo, but I must be vigilant with following up every three months with those tests to see if it is trying to come back. I wish you & you husband the best. I have been alive for over 2 years now & had a 4 month break & am back on chemo looking forward to my next break!

Thank you for your response. We are looking at "Living" with this also. Your information gives me a more hopeful outlook..

That’s is very positive information. Can I ask what chemo you were/are on? After one treatment my husband had embolisms and 2 heart attacks to unsafe to use 1st line (Firinox) chemo. So when safe they are changing his to Gemabr

I am on gemcitabine & Abraxane. 30 minutes prior to them I get Aloxi & Decadron IV. I did 44 treatments the first round. Started out 2 weeks on and one off then went to every other week after several months because I was feeling very fatigued. I probably should have taken a "break" way earlier than 44 treatments since my numbers went to 8 in Feb of 2023 and then very slowly increased. After 6 chemo treatments this time the CA 19-9 went from339.7 to 44.7 🙂 So far my worse side effects have been peripheral neuropathy to my fingers and feet & weight gain. Small price for staying alive 🙂

Thank you for that information