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Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: Oct 16 9:06am | Replies (42)
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HI I am so sorry with everything you have been through.Vertigo is no fun. It seems everyone has different symptoms. She has only experienced bad back pain, stomach pain, some nausea. I know for a fact the lack off appetite is from the tumor not from her being anxious, the doctor also said that is a symptom. I really hope it comes back at least some so she can get some strength. I will have to look up the whipple surgery as I have seen others talk about that, but from what we know, surgery for her will not be an option but we will know more on Friday. Thank you again and I really hope you are doing well and wish you the best.
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I guess I am the only one who has not had any trouble eating. I have some trouble understanding then why this is. Just trying to help. Others have posted that a medication can help with appetite. And there is medication for nausea. Does your mom have 2 tumors (one in the pancreas and one in the liver) or just one in her pancreas? If it is 2 that would be a reason I had read about for no surgery. Mine was just one large 5cm mass.
The pancreas makes enzyme's that are needed to break down fat and waxy vegetables for the nutrients we need. With out these enzymes diarrhea happens. The actual name is steatorrhea. Bad gas pain can also occur. This can be so bad the only way you can leave your home and the close bathroom is not to eat. They have pancreatic replacement enzymes that will help with this. I stopped eating fat and discovered this was my problem months before my tumor was found. I would eat zero fat plain greek yogurt with unsweetened applesauce mixed in. Fruit for snacks. Frozen veggies with a can of diced tomato's for a low fat soup. There are other threads on this site about low fat or foods that people found to eat when they were having trouble.
I found a web page that showed what happened to me and I guess it is common enough. The tumor grew a closed off my pancreatic duct first. I went on pancreatic enzymes. It continued to grow and closed off my bile duct from my liver. This caused my high bilirubin. Bile is also needed to break down food so we can get what we need from it. I had some gall stones in there also. They were able to get the stint in and everything was fine. My pancreatic duct was still blocked but I took the replacement enzymes. The pancreas also helps control blood sugar. If you don't have enough insulin, then you cannot break down the sugar in your blood for fuel. This can cause weight loss and weakness. These all can be treated.
I feel bad for all the folks that have trouble with eating. I did drop some weight but frankly I could stand to drop that amount again. Wish there was a way to send it to the folks that need it.
Best wishes to all dealing with cancer.