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Anyone chosen palliative care? What are the last months/weeks like?

Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: Sep 26 9:48pm | Replies (42)
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@mnewland99

Ok, I also have ATM, but I was stage 2 with 1 lymph node involvement. Before July 2022 I had Kaiser, and in April I started complaining to my dr about pain in my back, questioned my elevated monocytes, and complained about sudden very high blood sugar levels that couldn’t be controlled. I switched to Blue Shield in July of that year but didn’t get my diagnoses u til late September. I always wonder if I had the right care neck in April, if it wouldn’t have spread to that 1 lymph node and I would have been better off.
I’m rooting for you and your continued good health!

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Replies to "Ok, I also have ATM, but I was stage 2 with 1 lymph node involvement. Before..."
jeeplewis | @jeeplewis | Aug 25 9:30am

I hear you about wondering if there had been a diagnosis sooner, even a few months sooner, you might be in an entirely different situation now. I was damn lucky. The small, cancerous tumor just happened to be positioned so it put pressure on the bile duct which led to symptoms (change in the color of my urine, stools and skin) that led to the discovery of the tumor. Had it not been for that, and given the nature of this cancer, I might be in an entirely different situation today or, perhaps, dead. It is, in some ways, the luck of the draw. I know that in my bones. But, as I said, I don’t feel I’m out of the woods yet.

I’m also grateful that Mayo Clinic is in my network and is only a 90 minute drive from my house. I got my treatments and am followed by an oncologist here, in Minneapolis, and had the surgery and am followed by an oncology team at Mayo.

I wish you the best. May you be well in health and spirit.

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