Connect
← Return to Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others
Discussion
Pancreatic Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: 13 hours ago | Replies (1724)Comment receiving replies
Hello Colleen and group.
My name is Kerry, and I was diagnosed in March 2025 with adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas (ASCP). It has spread a bit to the liver, so I'm not a candidate for surgery.
Fortunately, I'm in Chicago getting excellent treatment at Rush University Medical Center, a PANCAN Center of Excellence. My treatment is Folfirinox for 3 days, every other week. So far, I've had two rounds (hospitalized with an infection briefly that delayed treatment).
Fatigue has been debilitating, also lack of appetite and weight loss. I was just prescribed Marinol, which seems to be helpful.
Any words of encouragement would be appreciated!
Kerry
Replies to "Hello Colleen and group. My name is Kerry, and I was diagnosed in March 2025 with..."
@kerrylc , There is a new, non-invasive ultrasound procedure called "histotripsy" that is FDA approved to treat liver tumors. I'm pretty sure that applies to both primary liver tumors and those from other sites that have metastasized to the liver. It has been described in some articles as a bridge helping patients get to a condition where they will qualify for surgery on their primary tumor.
It's being rolled out slowly across the USA. The equipment manufacturer has a provider site locator website here: https://histosonics.com/find-edison-provider/ . It shows two sites in Chicago, including Rush University, so definitely ask your team about it!
Dr. Kevin Burns at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, CA was one of the early adopters. He provides a good overview here: https://youtu.be/JIhKzQKuj4Y?si=VgYXw3a0RuTfUUoW
There is a histotripsy interest group on Facebook, and Dr. Burns himself occasionally participates.
I hope this brings you some encouragement. Best wishes!
I had the same chemo treatment last year. Same side effects but it got me out of the hospital.
From there they went to PRRT, which was only one day every other month, and not hard to tolerate. That evidently reduced the pancreatic tumor to where they decided to do surgery after all.
Unfortunately I also have disease spread to the liver, so I wonder if the surgery really did much good or just bought a little time. At this point some clinical trial my be my best hope as the oncologist seems out of answers. He seemed uncertain last time I saw him and postponed our next meeting.
Anyway best of luck.
Connect
Hello @kerrylc ;
You may not be a candidate for surgery NOW but you can be in the future! Chemotherapy is almost always the standard prior to surgery. If it provides good results, some other targeted therapies can be implemented resulting in necrosis and perhaps surgery. It is a journey for sure, one that I have been on since 2021, but live optimistically and take care of your body so you can make it through folfurinox. It’s definitely not a party .
may God bless you with strength, health, and wisdom.💜