The combination Gemzar/Abraxane is much more effective as a combination. I was given just Gemzar alone initially in 2012 after my Whipple surgery as Abraxane was not yet FDA approved and that’s when the trouble started.

Having one positive lymph node positive indicates metastatic cells broke off from the primary tumor. That increases the chance there could have been undetected circulating tumor cells that are micrometastatic and undetected due to the limitation of the sensitivity of imaging systems. The combination Gemzar/Abraxane is added insurance to eliminate and undetected minimal residual disease which is implicated in recurrence in up to 80% of patients within two years post Whipple and adjuvant chemotherapy.