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Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: 2 hours ago | Replies (1390)Comment receiving replies
I am a caregiver for my husband that was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic adenocarcinoma located in neck of pancreas but wrapped around his mesenteric artery making him ineligible for surgery. He has had 18 chemo treatments which has taken his pain away and has done well in management of side effects. After 3 more chemo treatments he is scheduled for SBRT radiation therapy. We are struggling whether it makes sense to get a second opinion on radiation treatment to see if he would qualify for Proton radiation (suppose to be fewer side effects). We would have to travel to a center offering, so would like to hear from anyone that has faced this decision or is facing it. Thanks for any input.
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Hello rjm1942!
I believe I read that proton therapy is good for tumors rather than lesions.
What is the size of tumor your husband is dealing with?
I was able to get surgery for the tumor in the tail of my pancreas, but after my surgery and without chemo for 4 months it metastasized to the liver. I got GAC (now just GA) chemo and still am for 11 months now, which shrunk my liver lesion from 1.5cm to 0.9 cm. Another 1cm liver lesion is no longer seen on my scans and my tumor marker is in the normal range. I got the MRIdean radiation at City of Hope in Irvine with an expert in that field in order to hopefully kill that lesion which remained at 0.9cm. In early December I’ll find out if it worked (my radiation treatments (3) ended in mid-October). The radiologist recommended that I continue on chemotherapy during the course of my 3 treatments which were administered over a 2 week period. I had slight nausea and weakness during that time, but I don’t know if was from the chemo or radiation; either way the effects were very slight and I’m hoping well worth the effort. Some of your decision might be based on the size of your tumor.