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Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: 3 minutes ago | Replies (1440)Comment receiving replies
Hi! My name is Henry and I was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer the day after Thanksgiving last year. Surgery is not indicated for me due to the placement of the tumor and its expansion into connected blood vessels. So I underwent chemo for 11 sessions before I had to quit, and amazingly there was no further growth in the tumor. I'm currently on a "chemo holiday" for 3 months. After that period, I'll get another scan to see what options might be available.
I'm uncertain about the future and wonder how the disease will progress. I'm, fortunate to have a great group of family and friends that are a constant support.
Thank you for letting me join!
Replies to "Hi! My name is Henry and I was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer the day..."
Henry,
I am so glad that there has been no further growth in the tumor! I would worry about being off chemo for that long. My husband passed away in July. He was stage 4 with metastasis to the liver and eventually the lungs, stomach, etc. He did 12 sessions of folfirinox initially along with a trial drug and then had a stroke, which caused him to be off chemo for approximately five weeks while he recuperated from that. During that time the cancer grew and spread a lot. I know everyone is different, but just wanted you to be aware since this cancer is so aggressive and hard to control. Best wishes to you for a long and successful journey ahead! < 3
Henry, my prayers and thoughts are with you. Where are you currently getting treated?
Hi Henry,
That’s what I have. The tumor was wrapped around blood vessels. After 12 rounds of Folfirinox, I had a couple months off and then went into radiation. Found that it metastasized to my lungs about six months after radiation then I had the gem/abraxine chemo, but it was too harsh. So now I’m on a new drug called Lumakras.
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Hi Henry,
This is a good network to connect to. I learn something every day from the posts; some of which got me to sooner care, as opposed to what some drs favorite position of “wait and see”. Make sure you know what your mutations are and see if you can get one of your drs even your primary to place orders for some CA19-9 (tumor marker blood test) during your chemo holiday. Best wishes to you!